


Halo: Nightstalker

by blackcomet1224



Category: Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms, Marvel, Venom (Comics), Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, F/M, Gen, Halo Universe, Marvel Universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-03
Updated: 2019-11-14
Packaged: 2020-10-06 11:17:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 49,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20506097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackcomet1224/pseuds/blackcomet1224
Summary: After coming face to face with the barrel of the original Daisy’s gun, Daisy’s clone retreats to her room, expecting to die soon. She now knows she has lived far beyond what was expected and is on borrowed time. When she goes to sleep, she doesn’t expect to wake up – and she definitely doesn’t expect her body to be hijacked by a Symbiote named Nightstalker.Desperate to separate herself from the original Daisy and enticed by the promises of a stronger body, the clone agrees to become Nightstalker’s host. She also gives herself a new name – Amaranth – as she prepares to begin her own life. Immediately, Amaranth becomes a hero in Fairfield and finally feels in control of her own life, but Amaranth isn’t able to disentangle herself from Daisy’s life as easily as she expected.To make matters worse, unbeknownst to Amaranth and Nightsalker, the powerful, secretive research facility that the Symbiote escaped is watching them… and waiting.(Set shortly after Halo legends: homecoming. Art by Ivanwind/Fael Hussien on Fiveer. Commissioned by me. Will be reposted on Royalroad.com.)





	1. Prolouge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: I have some art for the characters on my deviant art account: Mechafan1224 by Ivanwind/fael Hussein on Fiveer. This chapter was edited with the help of Rolly_Polly and thepapercranes on Fiveer. (a/n: So here's an idea for a fanfic I had for a while. Please rate and review, I am open to critiques. It's a halo/venom crossover, but since I will be taking stuff from the comics I will put in the marvel/halo crossover section. Also, this chapter has been edited by thepapercranes on Fiveer. Give them a look. They price fairly and wonderful to talk to. Also, Daisy's backstory is based on the Daisy-023 Halo Fannon page)

** _Prologue_ **

**Year: 05/17/2525**

**Planet: Sargasso**

**Location: Life Foundation Research facility a few miles from Fairfields**

The Sargasso branch of the Life Foundation Research Facility was devoted to the betterment of humanity and home the region's top scientists that have dedicated their lives to developing cutting-edge technologies aimed at improving and prolonging life. On the outside, it was unsuspecting. An authoritative mass of metal and concrete, stained with years of grit and grime from the elements. Minimal augmentation, spartan and mundane in nature--common characteristics of a typical medical facility. However, unbeknownst to oblivious civilians and diligent staff operating within, it was anything but.

The director of the Sargasso Branch was a middle-aged man by the name of Ronald Reece, and he was getting ready to make a report to the CEO of the Life Foundation. The notion made what little hair he had stand on end as he nervously fiddled with his lab coat. The pressed white button-up beneath his coat was slightly too tight around his heavyset frame and he wished there was another on hand in his office.

“Sentry,” He said, straightening himself behind his oak desk. “Call Mr. Drake, please.”

“Yes, Director. Setting up encryptions and direct link,” chimed the digitized AI voice.

A projector in the middle of the office flickered to life and a young man that appeared to be in his early 30s, stood with slicked-back hair and a neatly pressed suit. He exuded a youthful yet professional aura. It was Carlton Drake, CEO of the Life Foundation. He straightened his black tie then clapped his hands together. “ Ah, Director, I was expecting you. Tell me, how is everything with the project? Have our ‘vaccines’ been shipped? Our first group of clients is becoming a little...impatient,” he gave Ronald a shark-like grin. “You know how I feel about unhappy clients.”

Ronald coughed into his hand before wiping the sweat from his brow. “Not yet, but the trial ‘vaccines’ are being loaded up as we speak and will be shipped to the nearest spaceport as soon as it finishes loading. We are using the most discreet and secure method possible.” Ronald took a sip of water from the cup on his desk, for his mouth felt unusually dry. “As for the Project, everything is going according to schedule. Limited runs of the ‘vaccines’ are being produced and stored for potential clients. The compatibility test is showing an accuracy rate of roughly 70%. Thanks to Dr. Skirth's contribution, we are losing less ‘volunteers’ to the experiments.”

Once again, Carlton clapped his hands enthusiastically as he praised Ronald. “Great! Good work. Make sure to remind the good doctor that we are keeping a close eye on her children, and to be a good girl. She should be grateful that she’s still useful to us; otherwise, she would have been terminated long ago.”

“Yes, sir, I will inform her right away.”

“Oh, and Ronald, don’t disappoint me like Dr. Skirth. Unlike her, you’re expendable, and we are too close to our goal for delays.” Suddenly, the connection was terminated. . In the blink of an eye, Ronald had his desk drawer open, pulling out a bottle of whiskey and a shot glass drinking to calm his nerves.

**(Meanwhile…..)**

In one of the facility's many loading docks, a forklift carrying ten gray metal cylinders marked with warning labels and biohazard symbols was loading a truck. Each barrel had a serial number, starting with ‘SPM’ and ending with a number between 1 and 10. The dockworker driving the lift pressed the brakes too hard, dropping a cylinder and causing it to crash with a loud metallic clang.

“Hey, watch it! That cargo is worth more than your life..” yelled a gray-haired foreman. Those cylinders needed to go out intact and he wasn’t going to let a few careless lackeys jeopardize his job.

The dock worker stopped the forklift. “Sorry, sir,” 

“Don’t ‘sorry, sir’ me! Get those containers loaded up, pronto!”

One of the other dockworkers hastily lifted the container and carefully placed it back on the forklift with the others. The driver loaded the containers onto the truck where another dock worker secured them with multiple load locks and tie-down straps. He got out of the trailer and gave a thumbs up to the foreman.

“Alright, that’s the last one. Close it up, and make sure the reefer is set at the correct temperature or do I need to remind everyone,” he tapped the datapad he was holding. “How time-sensitive and important this cargo is.”

One of the dockworkers checked the reefers and gave another signal of approval. The foreman nodded and gave the truck driver the OK to move. The truck’s engine sputtered as it sped away from the dock, checking out of the security gate and into the rainy night. 

“So, what’s in those containers anyway?” asked one of the dock workers.

The foreman shrugged with a 'hmph.' “From what I heard, a new vaccine.”

“But, sir, those don’t seem like the type of containers you use to store vaccines, and-”

The foreman lifted his hand, stopping his underling. “What is the first rule on the docks, when it comes to our cargo?”

“Don’t ask questions.” responded the dock worker.

The foreman nodded curtly. “Exactly. Keep that in mind, and you won’t get fired.”

The dock worker nodded, and they both went back to work. They had another truck to load.

**(A few hours later...)**

The delivery truck stalled on the highway behind some cars. The heavy rain was causing standstill traffic, which was the source of the driver and his partner’s headaches. Micheal sighed with frustration, he and his partner hated these types of deliveries. The kind that contained sensitive material, and needed to be at its destination in an unrealistically short amount of time. At least they were paid extra for the trouble.

“So, what are we carrying that is so important? I mean this due date is ridiculously close,” said Micheal’s co-driver, Dylan.

“It's a new vaccine.”

“But those containers didn’t seem to be any used for vaccines in the past?”

Micheal let out a sigh. “Dylan, what was the first thing I taught when you first got hired?”

“Don’t ask questions,”

“Exactly, and you already asked one too many,” Micheal took a sip of his energy drink just as some bozo abruptly cut in front without a turn signal. “Damn it!” cursed the driver as he jerked his wheel, narrowly avoiding the car. As he swerved out of the way, the truck tipped to the side slightly. Micheal felt his seat belt pull against his chest and collarbone, keeping him safely in place. He steadied the truck and the distinct sound of snapping followed by glass breaking caught his attention. A cold sweat formed on Michael’s brow.

“Oh, no….”

He pulled over and parked on the side of the highway, then turned towards his partner. “Dylan, check the back. Make sure everything’s in place. We can’t afford to lose a single container.”

His partner nodded grimly. “Alright,” he said before grabbing a raincoat and getting out of the truck. He slowly moved to the back of the vehicle, taking out a flashlight to get a better look. The trailer door was cracked open, creating an icy breeze as cold air drifted out. Upon closer inspection, Dylan noticed the broken clasp and concluded that it must have been faulty because the claps were supposed to be able to withstand the force of a plane crash. 

He opened the door all the way and went inside the trailer to check the cargo. He shined his flashlight on the containers. There were around ten, stacked neatly on top of each other and secured by load locks and straps. A chilly mist surrounded the cylinders. For a minute he wondered what the hell this stuff could be but quickly squashed the thought. He was paid to transport cargo, not to ask questions. Dylan continued to inspect the strange cargo until he noticed a loose container that had rolled away from the others.. As he walked closer, he noticed there was a crack in it, and a slimy residue coated the edges. Something had leaked out. Dylan knocked on the cylinder and heard an echo. 

The container was empty.

“Oh shit,” Quickly, Dylan turned around coming face to face with a black and midnight blue slime. Before he could scream, the blob jumped on him, covering his face. Dylan tried to tear it off to no avail, the substance gripping harder until he could no longer breathe. He gasped for air for a few seconds before collapsing, unconscious. The slime remained on Dylan's face for a few seconds before cringing and sliding off. It slithered out of the trailer and onto the open highway. 

**(Outside the truck)**

Finally free, the inky blob dragged itself across the highway, getting pelted by rain and battered by the wind of passing cars and trucks. But it didn’t care. Right now, its primary focus was finding a host. The last potential host tasted terrible. Not a good match, at all. It needed a more viable host if it was going to survive long term, and soon. 

The mass of animated ooze kept slithering, barely avoiding speeding vehicles until a car barreling down the crowded highway struck it. The impact spread the substance across the car’s bumper like a bug splattered on a windshield. In its weakened state, all the slime could do was latch on tighter, turning the same color as its ride, as it was forced to go to the car’s destination.


	2. Partnership

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A teenage clone destined for an early death gets a new chance at life when a fugitive Symbiote chooses her as its host in this cross-over fanfiction between Halo and Venom.

**(A/N: this a second chapter to my fic I hope you enjoy it. Also, I have some art for the characters on my deviant art account: Mechafan1224 by Ivanwind/fael Hussein on Fiveer <https://www.fiverr.com/ivanwind/draw-a-fullbody-anime-character-fanart-and-ori?source=order_page_summary_gig_link_title&funnel=f43096c8-7558-4213-8cfa-722835d5f6f8>. This chapter was edited with the help of Rolly_Polly and thepapercranes on Fiveer.<https://www.fiverr.com/rolly_polly/beta-read-and-edit-your-short-story-or-fanfiction?source=order_page_summary_gig_link_title&funnel=fdc9fb75-c6d3-4583-8ab4-599b6b032e2b>**

** <https://www.fiverr.com/thepapercranes> **

<https://www.deviantart.com/mechafan1224>

** _Chapter 1: Partnership_ **

**Year: 05/18/2525**

**Planet: Sargasso**

**Location: the City of Fairfield, Spencer's Estate**

Daisy was running as hard as she could, faster than she ever had. Sweat was pouring down her face as she passed by alleyways and different streets. She ran until she made it to the town square, a popular location for the residents of Fairfield and tourists alike. The square was surrounded by shops and cafes that sold local specialties - particularly, dishes made from a tropical fruit exclusive to Sargasso and a significant source of revenue for the city. There was a fountain in the middle of the square; elegant, but simple. It was a favorite spot for local couples and children. Daisy walked towards it, remembering how she used to play around the fountain and throw coins her parents gave her to make a wish. She tore something from around her neck; a metal necklace with two dog-tags attached. Daisy looked at the tags with a scowl, then threw them into the fountain before continuing to run. She ran for what felt like forever, taking alleyways to avoid detection until she made it to a bridge. The bridge that would lead her home.

A sickly, pale girl with blond hair suddenly opened blue eyes, breathing hard as she looked around. She was still sitting in her wheelchair in the middle of the family garden that surrounded her home. She must have fallen asleep when tending to the daisies and amaranths. Daisy watched the flowers as they bent slightly with the gentle breeze then let out a sad sigh.

"It was just another dream…" she muttered, clenching her hands with a frown forming on her face. 

Ever since she was a little girl, Daisy remembered having dreams that didn't quite feel like dreams. Dreams that felt so real and yet so far away. Where she was stronger than she’d ever been before and could do things she could no longer do. Sometimes she was running a track, dodging obstacles and feeling the exhilaration of adrenaline pumping through her veins as she overcame challenges with the help of people she didn't know but felt she should. Or sometimes, she was fighting someone bigger and stronger than her, and taking him down without breaking a sweat. Daisy always welcomed these dreams, especially as her sickness got worse.

According to her parents, it started when she was six, a few weeks after her kidnapping. It began so insignificantly. Daisy remembered feeling weak with aches and pains in different parts of her body and she was often short of breath. It got worse and worse until she finally suffered a seizure. That’s when it went from bad to worse. Daisy doesn't remember much from that time, just her legs gradually weakening and the sight of her mother crying as her father comforted her. 

The doctors said her condition was due to a faulty fertilization treatment that her mother took in order to conceive. As a result, her parents had become overprotective, which significantly increased when she fell ill. After successfully suing the company that provided the treatment, they received a large settlement of which they devoted every penny to find a cure for her. Despite the amount of time, money and effort spent on helping doctors find a cure; the only thing they could offer was a cocktail of expensive drugs to treat her symptoms and improve her quality of life. But, her health continued to deteriorate, although at a slower pace. She went from a cane and braces to a wheelchair before the age of thirteen. She was only able to walk with great difficulty thanks to therapy, but after a few steps, her legs would just give up. Every breath was a struggle. Her aches and pains would often return, ravaging her body. The only feelings the young girl knew anymore were weakness and sickness.

Her family and friends were very supportive, providing as much emotional support they could. Especially her parents, who spent a fortune to make sure she could live comfortably: retrofitting the house to be handicap accessible, hiring tutors so she wouldn't suffer the stress of traveling in her condition, and making sure a personal nurse was always on-call to monitor her. They always attempted to help her keep going and live life as normally as she could, and though the dreams allowed her to escape from reality, she couldn't help but feel off. Like...something was wrong with her. Not her sickness, but on a deeper, more subconscious level; like she was different. The ominous feeling came over her every once in a while. but she never talked about it with her parents, never quite knew how to put it into words. 

She would be lying if she didn’t admit to being bitter and frustrated about her situation. She hated the feeling, her condition, and the varying degrees of pain she felt every day. She missed being able to walk and run. To be able to live without taking a cocktail of drugs every day, always being dependant on someone else for virtually everything. She hated being a burden. She hated knowing that she would likely die before her 20th birthday. She hated seeing her parents silently suffering as they watched her waste away, working overtime just so they could afford the growing list of medications she needed to prolong her sad existence.

Daisy’s morbid thoughts were interrupted when she heard a familiar jingle coming from her wrist. She glanced down to see her Dad trying to call her on her chatter. Very likely checking up on her for the hundredth time since he and her mom were both at work. Her Dad sold leisure air-crafts to and had been working extra hours to pay for her treatment. Not only that, he was futilely trying to invest in research to find a cure for her condition. Her mom sold flowers to tourists in the town square as a part-time job and she too dedicated all of her earnings to her daughter’s treatment and research. 

Daisy answered her chatter. "Hey, Dad," she said, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice. She loved her Dad, but he could be a bit of a worrywart at times.

_ "Hey, my little flower, just calling to check on you." _ His baritone voice chimed.

Daisy let out a sigh. "I'm alright, Dad, just in the garden getting some fresh air. Maxine is inside making some snacks and yes, I took my medicine," she answered, anticipating her dad's next question in advance.

A chuckle came from the chatter.  _ "Alright, I know that calling so many times in a short period is a little annoying, but you can't blame a father for worrying. Anyway, I won’t keep you. Gotta get back on the road. Don't forget to get some rest, we don't want you to miss the meteor shower tonight. And keep your life alert on you at all times." _

A small smile spread across Daisy's lips. "Alright, I will. Love you, Dad. And don't worry, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. It is a once in a lifetime event." 

_ “Love you too, my little flower.” _

Daisy pressed a button on her chatter, ending the call. She brought an amaranth flower closer to her nose, inhaling its sweet scent and smiled. The garden always had a calming effect when she started feeling bitter. It made her feel at peace and aided in forgetting her troubles. 

Then suddenly, she felt a presence. She couldn't describe the feeling it sparked in her, but it felt eerily familiar.

Daisy turned her head towards the source of the sensation, shock spreading across her face.. Walking towards her was an exact copy of herself; but unlike her, the look-alike was tall and robust, wearing a red, tight-fitting uniform that displayed her muscular figure. She had cropped blond hair and a pistol in her right hand. The look-alike sauntered forward until she was standing right in front of Daisy. In the next moment, she raised her gun, pointing it at the wheelchair-bound girl's forehead. 

Daisy knew she should be panicking and calling for help. At the very least, asking her why she looked so much like her. Instead, she was strangely calm, a sense of familiarity between the two of them. A bond that was only between them. They stared into each other's eyes without a word. Daisy could see and feel the uncertainty, sadness, and faltering determination in the matching pair before her., At that moment, a wave of understanding rippled between the two. 

Daisy understood who this look-alike was. 

For as long as she remembered she felt wrong. Fake. Deep down, she knew the reason why but she could never place her finger on it. But with the look-alike standing here in front of her now, something clicked and clarity set in.  _ She  _ was the look-alike. And the girl in front of her was the real Daisy. 

And the source of her strange dreams.

After another stretched moment, the original lowered her pistol turned around and walked away as if in defeat. 

Something in Daisy couldn't let her go, she didn't know the exact reason, but she needed to say something to her.

"I-...it’s always the same dream! I dream I'm strong. Stronger than anyone...Like you. Just like you are."

Her counterpart stopped and turned around, giving the clone her attention. Daisy dug into a compartment in her wheelchair and pulled out a small teddy bear figurine attached to a thin necklace. It was a gift given to her--the real Daisy--by her mother for her sixth birthday. 

"Here. I want you to have this," she said in an impish tone.

"But why me?" asked the girl as she stared at the bear, eyes filling with longing.

Daisy smiled, focusing on the small trinket. "I don't know, to be honest with you. It’s just, something tells me that I should. I want you to take it." 

The “original” Daisy hesitantly took the bear, then simply turned and left. No more words were needed, they both understood that it had to be this way. The clone tilted her head upward and noticed an aircraft hovering in the distance flying in the same direction the original was going. Daisy couldn't help but wonder: how long that aircraft had been there?

She abandoned the thought and wheeled herself back into her home. It was modest by wealthy standards. It was comprised of two stories with three bedrooms and two bathrooms not including the library which served as a classroom her for tutoring sessions. 

She heard the sound of clanging metal and ceramic coming from the kitchen and out came a woman in her late 20s wearing white medical scrubs. Her long black hair was tied into a ponytail and her slightly tanned face was donned with a pleasant smile, adding to the calming aura that seemed to exude from her. It was Maxine, Daisy’s personal nurse. She was a sweet soul with a pure heart that got along well with the Spencer family as if she were one of their own. One of Daisy’s favorite things about the nurse was that she always gave her space to do things on her own, giving her ample space when possible. She was carrying a tray of purple bars topped with oats.

“Hey, Daisy, back inside already? I was about to bring out some snacks so we could eat them together in the garden and enjoy the weather,” She lifted the tray for emphasis. “I made your favorite too, my world-famous multi-fruit bars! But since you’ve come inside, I guess we can enjoy them here.”

The clone smiled, she usually would oblige but after what happened, she just wanted to go up to her room to be alone for a while. At that moment, she was glad Maxine wasn’t outside with her. Who knows what would’ve happened if she’d seen what transpired. 

“Actually, I’m a little tired.” 

‘Which is the understatement of the century.’ She thinks solemnly. 

“I will just take some with me to eat when I wake up.”

A look of concern played across Maxine’s face. “Oh, is something wrong? You seem a bit down, Daisy.”

The girl in question shook her head. “No, I’ll be alright. Thank you, I just need some rest.”

Maxine gave in with a sigh. “Alright. If you need anything give me a buzz, ok?”

“Alright,” The clone grabbed a few bars and wrapped them in a napkin for later before moving to the front of the staircase and rolling onto a platform. She pressed a button on her wheelchair prompting the platform to slowly lift her up the stairs. When she started having to use a wheelchair, her parents installed this special elevator so she could go upstairs without relying on others. After about half a minute, she made it upstairs. She wheeled into the hallway that led to the bedrooms, turned left and went to the end of the hall to the door across from the master bedroom.

She opened the door, wheeled inside, and made sure to close it behind her. Her room was simple; a bed blanketed by white sheets and a purple cover, a rug, a shelf that contained her teddy bear collection, a window that looked out into the Sargasso Sea and a dresser drawer with a mirror that was littered with photos of her and her family from throughout the years. She rolled to the dresser and moved the bottles of medication to the side to place the fruit bars on the dresser. She grabbed a picture of her with her mom and dad. They were behind a cake with an 8-shaped candle on top.

If she really was a clone, then everything finally made sense. The feeling of being fake, the dreams, the lapse of memory from when she was kidnapped, the illness. She didn't know much about cloning aside from the little taught by her biology tutor, but from what she did know cloning a full person was an unstable process. It could be done in theory, but the clones usually suffered from an extensive list of health issues...which described her condition perfectly.

And if she was truly a clone…

"They’re not really my parents, are they? They’re...hers." She murmured quietly as she looked at the photo.

Most of her life had been a lie--deep down she knew this fact--but then, how could it be she remembered her-...Daisy's father tending to his daughter’s knee after she scraped her knee the day before her kidnapping? 

It didn’t take her long to put together that they must have found a way to copy the then six-year Daisy's memories into her. Whoever did this managed to clone a full human being, so the idea wasn't too far-fetched. 

But, why go through the trouble? Why kidnap Daisy? 

She could surmise that the government or a similarly powerful organization was involved based on the uniform her original was wearing. But still, why?

And why her?

The clone stared at her hands, suddenly contemplating her existence. She wasn't Daisy, so who was she? Her entire reason for being created was to replace Daisy...and then slowly fade away and die. When she dies, no questions can be asked. But now more than ever, she feels that wants to avoid that part of her fate. Now...knowing that she was in fact a clone, the cloned Daisy wanted to be her own person. 

She wished to stand separate from the orignal Daisy and to have something to call her own. Not just a copy, not a mirror image. 

Her own being. She wanted to live as herself; whoever that self would turn out to be.

However, despite her wishful thinking fate had other plans. Her body would continue to degrade until her premature death. There was really nothing she could do at this point. In fact, she had to keep pretending to be Daisy for her parents' sake and safety. Not only would finding out the truth break their hearts, if she said something about being a clone, but it might also endanger them if they decided to investigate the whole ordeal. Which she knew they inevitably would. 

It was very likely the military, or whoever did this, wouldn't come after her for seeing her original because they knew she would die soon. Plus, besides her parents, who would believe such a far-fetched story anyway? Even she did speak the truth she would be declared crazy, and her words dismissed as a sign that her condition was getting worse. The least she could do was pretend to be their daughter to make up for replacing their real daughter. She may not truly be theirs, but she still loved them all the same. She couldn't help but think of them as her parents and herself as Daisy.

It’s all she’d ever known.

The Daisy clone’s eyes felt heavy. She needed to rest, to refresh herself. All of this had taken a lot out of her frail body. The clone laid her head on her dresser using her arms as a pillow before almost instantly drifting into a deep merciful slumber, welcoming its embrace. 

When she opened her eyes, she wasn't in her room or in her wheelchair. Instead, she was in some jail cell sitting on a cot. In front of her was a woman wearing a white lab coat and a long skirt. She had skin so pale it was almost white, jet black hair, and icy blue eyes covered with a pair of glasses glinting in the light giving her eyes a cold, intelligent glint. There was something familiar about her that the clone didn't like. For some reason, she felt anger, hatred, and revulsion towards the woman. The female in question was saying something but it was incomprehensible gibberish to Daisy’s ears; like she was trying to speak through glass.

"Daisy!" 

The clone suddenly shot up, fully awake and alert, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. It was another dream. Another vision, memory, or whatever, from the real Daisy… 

That woman, who was she? And why did she seem so familiar?" The clone heard a knock to her left. 

"Daisy! Are you awake?" A voice called out from beyond her bedroom. She sluggishly looked out her window and saw it was dark outside, then peaked at her chatter and saw it was 8:50 pm. 

Daisy sat up straighter. "How long was I asleep?" She murmured to herself.

"Daisy!" Another knock banged against the door.

"Coming!" she called out, sleep heavy in her voice.

In a few swift pushes at her wheelchair, Daisy was across the room. She opened the door to be met by a man whom she knew like the back of her hand. He was about 6'2” with a muscular physique, short blond hair, and blue eyes. He had a rough-looking face that was painted with a gentle expression. This was Jon Ann Spencer, Daisy's father. A businessman and former marine who spent ten years in service. He left the military after being offered a job at Aerotech selling luxury space crafts to spend more time with his family. Despite the change in his life, he still maintained his physique and avoided the creeping fat that struck most businessmen.

"Daisy, I was checking if you were awake. I checked on you earlier and saw you were sleeping, so I left you alone for a while longer." He looked down at the clone as she was rubbing one of her eyes. "I didn't wake you up did I?"

"No, I just woke up. Still rubbing the sand out my eye, you know."

Jon nodded in understanding. "Alright then, hurry and straighten yourself up and come on down to the garden. The meteor shower is supposed to start in about 10 minutes."

The clone nodded. "OK, Dad. Be down there in a sec."

"Just don't push yourself, honey. Take your time, the shower will last for a good minute," said Jon as he closed the door.

"I won't, Dad." the clone replied. 

Daisy rolled her wheelchair to her dresser, staring into the mirror. Thinking about it now, there were some differences between her and her original besides the clear gap in athleticism and hair length. For one thing, the real Daisy’s skin was a little darker, while the clone was pale due to her condition. Then there were her eyes. There something about them; a hardness she couldn’t describe, which was lacking in her own eyes. The clone shook her head and focused. "Alright, I guess it's time to continue to pretend to be Daisy. You can do this...clone? Daisy? Daisy clone? It doesn't matter, you just have to continue to be Daisy! Just act natural. Do it for them." She looked at the pictures of her parents strewn across her desk. The only family she’d ever known. 

"For them," she said more quietly.

She rolled her chair to the and pushed herself down the hall. Once she reached the stairs, she took the elevator down again. She quickly wheeled herself past the living room and kitchen, then out the front door. She stared up into the starry night sky, inhaling the humid air. The Daisy clone looked around until she saw her Mom and Dad sitting in a couple of beach chairs set up on the white pavement by the garden's greenhouse. The cloned rolled her wheelchair toward the couple. As soon as she saw Daisy, the woman got up to give her a hug. Her mother was taller than the average woman; she would guess about 5’10 with dirty blond hair and chestnut brown eyes. She was slightly plump in the face but her body was pretty lean. 

"Daisy, how was your day? Was it tiring? You were asleep for quite a while."

_ ‘Oh, besides meeting my original, questioning my place in life and having a bit of an identity crisis, everything was just peachy.’  _ The clone forced herself to smile. "It was just a little boring, so I took a nap to pass the time until the meteor shower."

"Better a boring and safe day than a dangerous one." Her mother responded as she sat back down on the lawn chair. "Now come on, the shower will start any minute now."

The clone looked around, noticing someone was missing. “Where’s Maxine?”

“Oh, she went home for the night. She had to help a friend of hers with something,” Her mother responded as she continued peering up at the starry night sky.

The clone nodded her head, she remembered the nurse mentioning something about ‘making sure someone doesn’t do anything stupid at the club’ tonight. “It would have been nice to have her here,” she said too quietly for her parents to hear.

Her father pointed at the sky. "Look, it’s already starting!"

The young girl regarded the sky and saw the trails of light flying through the air. They were beautiful and a sight to behold that only came every 100 years. A once in a lifetime event. The Daisy clone glanced over at the two people who were the closest thing to family she had. She couldn’t help but contemplate the fact that she was not their daughter at this moment, and that they were ignorant of the fact she was just a cheap knockoff of their true Daisy. But to her, they were still her parents. She always loved them, she still enjoyed her time with them, but she couldn’t help but feel guilty. She was living the life that should have been Daisy’s; birthdays and holidays, the good and bad times, everything in her life she unintentionally stole from the orignal. 

“Is something wrong, dear?” asked her mother, breaking her out of her thoughts. 

The clone shook her head. “No, I’m alright. I’m just more tired than I thought. I think I will go to bed a little early tonight.” 

“Oh, okay. Then I will help you get into your nightgown, and I can tuck you in.” Her mother got out of the chair, ready to follow her inside.

The clone smiled. “That’s alright, Mom, I can get ready for bed myself. I don’t want you to miss any more of the shower.”

Her mother was about to protest, but her father gave his input. “Now Amy, she is a big girl, and she has her life-alert so if she needs any help she can call us,” he cautioned getting up from his chair to stand beside her.

Amy let out a frustrated sigh. “Alright, just don’t push yourself too hard, and if you need to call us don’t hesitate. We’ll be right here.”

“Alright. Goodnight, Mom, Dad,” she drove her wheelchair closer to her parents and gave them both a hug. “I love you, and thank you for everything.” Thankfully she managed to stop herself from crying right then and there. She had never meant those words more than she did now and was so tempted to tell them the truth, even if they wouldn’t believe her. But she couldn’t risk their safety. She felt her parents hugged back, their arms wrapping her in warmth.

“We love you too, sweetie. Goodnight.”

“Go get some sleep. Tomorrow, it's back to school and therapy. Love you, my little flower.”

After that exchange she turned around and headed towards the house, trying her hardest not to cry. If only they knew the truth... 

Pretending was going to be harder than she thought.

**(Meanwhile….)**

The car’s movement finally stopped, meaning it was time for the slime to get off the vehicle that hit it. But first it ate a large number of bugs that had also hit the bumper of the car during its trip; gathering enough energy to survive a little longer. The fleshy mass detached itself from the car and landed on the ground to examine its surroundings. There was a massive structure in front of it, likely the home of the owner of the car. And based on one of its previous host’s memories, if there was one human, there were probably more. It looked for a way inside the home when it felt vibrations in the ground. Something was coming. The blob of flesh hid under the car in the shadows. A few moments later, a female human in what it believed was a wheelchair passed by stopping in front of the house. She looked and smelled weak and sickly, the blob smiled internally. She was just what it needed in a host, for now. Someone that couldn’t resist it’s bonding to him/her and who would listen to what it had to offer. The girl was stopped in front of the door; it had to act fast before she got away, but it was too weak to move quick enough. It needed a host to use for transportation. The blob looked around until its sight landed on a medium-sized rodent nearby, a type of rat if his previous host’s memories were correct, and it had its back turned. The slime crept and slithered its way to the unsuspecting rat that was eating a crumb of food. The rat lifted its head sensing danger, but it was too late. The mass jumped up and covered the rat, thoroughly soaking into its skin and taking full control. It wasn’t the most compatible, but it would do. 

Acting quickly, the creature forced the rat to run towards the wheelchair ignoring the cries of panic in the rat’s mind. Its mind was simple, nothing but basic instinct. Halfway there, it could see the girl opening the door. It pushed its temporary host harder, enhancing its muscles. And just as the girl opened the door, he jumped then separated from the rat, sticking to the back of the wheelchair and squeezing itself into a crack of the battery pack housing.

The clone entered the house, automatically taking the elevator up the stairs. Getting off, she went down the hall to her room and went in. She had a lot on her mind and just wanted to go to bed and temporarily forget everything in a hopefully dreamless slumber. The teenage girl rolled to her dresser and opened three medicine bottles, taking a pill from each one. She took her medicine and began to get ready for bed. Unbuttoning her sweater vest and set it aside. The fake then reached behind her back and undid her zipper, she proceeded to pull her arms through the dresses arm straps. She pulls the dress down her body until she reached her waist. Taking a deep breath and with some difficulty, she lifted herself up slightly using her armrest as leverage. While keeping one arm on the armrest, she used her free arm to pull the rest of her dress down like she was taking off a pair of pants. After sitting back down and letting out her breath, the fake folded her dress then placed it on her bed before unbuttoning and taking off her shoes and socks.

The clone grabbed the nightgown off her bed and slide over her head, letting it slide down over her, making sure her arms went through the sleeves. After straightening her gown, she went to the right side of her wheelchair where a compartment used to store a collapsible walking cane was located. The sickly girl took the cane out and extended it using it as the support. And with some effort, the clone lifted herself out of her wheelchair and transferred herself onto the bed. The copy laid down and shifted her body to make herself more comfortable. Closing her eyes letting herself drift into a deep slumber thankful for the first time the drowsiness side-effect of her medicine.

But unknown to her, the fleshy, oily blob, sensed that she was vulnerable. Carefully, it oozed it’s way out from the wheelchair's battery pack, dripping onto the floor. It slithered to the bed of its prey, grabbing onto the cover to climb its way up. The black mass finally reached the young girl’s exposed hand and began to bond. She was a great match, but her genetics were a mess. There were signs of degeneration and uncontrolled growth of damaged cells starting to form. Fortunately, it was something that could be fixed. 

Suddenly, a dark fog began to form around the sleeping girl; fog so thick that it resembled the blackness of tar and oil. The only light was coming from an unknown source above her. Goosebumps rose on her skin caused by a chill in the air that made the hairs on her neck stand straight up. She looked around and studied her surroundings. Where was she? How did she get here, and what was that feeling in her stomach? 

“Hello!” she called out. “Is anyone there?”

“Fa….kee….rrr….”

The clone turned around to look behind. “Hello? If anyone is out there, I am lost. Can some help me!”

“Th...ief….”

“Imposter!”

“Wha…. what? Ok, who’s there?!” The flash clone looked around and noticed that the darkness was getting closer and the voices getting louder. “Stay back!”

**“Imposter!!!”**

**“FAKE!!!”**

**“THIEF!!!”**

She stepped backward, desperately trying to get away from the darkness encroaching like a creature corning its prey as it came closer. As she stumbled away, the voices got louder. They were everywhere yet nowhere, coming from all directions like an echo.

**“HELP!!!”**

**“IMPOSTER!!!”**

**“THIEF!!!”**

**“FAKE!!!”**

“I didn’t mean to! It's not my fault!” she yelled, heart beating like it was trying to escape her chest and tears began streaming down her face. 

“Not your fault?”

Out of the darkness like a phantom phasing through a wall, a familiar figure stepped out. The flash clone stumbled again, shaking her head in disbelief. “You’re back….”

“Not your fault?” said the real Daisy, followed by a mirthless chuckle as she took a step closer. An uncanny smirk spread across her face that put the clone on edge. “You took everything from me.”

“I’m sorry.” she croaked as she gained more distance.

“Sorry? You took my life. The life I should’ve had!” The real Daisy took another step closer to her, smirk disappearing. “Your birthdays, life with my parents, every little moment of your life rightfully belonged to me, but you stole it, you imposter!”

The clone put her hands on her head, crouching down as she began sobbing. She was right; she unintentionally stole everything from her original. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to! I didn’t want to take your life. I didn’t want to replace you. It wasn’t my choice!” She lowered her head further and whispered, “I’m sorry.” she looked up only to meet the barrel of a gun and its wielder looking at her with utter contempt.

“Don’t worry, I intend to take my life back.” Daisy pulled the trigger.

The clone woke up in a cold sweat, breathing rapidly she placed her hand across her forehead. “No hole... It was just a nightmare.” She took a moment to take a deep breath. It was just a nightmare, but it spoke the truth. Even in her dreams, the fact that she was an imposter, a liar, and a thief still haunted her. The wind blew through her hair as she buried her face into her hands. Suddenly, she noticed the atmospheric sound of cars honking in the distance. Amidst the idle city noises, the chime of laughter and people talking kept her company. Confused, the girl lifted her head from her hands, finally realizing that she wasn't in her bed anymore. She rapidly looked around in all directions until her eyes landed on the vibrantly colored billboard that towered above her on the city's rooftop.

“How did I get up here!” The clone paced back and forth, trying to figure out how in the world she went from her bed to the top of some building. “I could still be dreaming.” she pinched her arm and felt the resulting pain. “OK, I’m not dreaming…..” The clone looked down and saw something that she hadn't seen since she was a little girl. She was walking on her own two legs with no shaking and no weakness. In fact, she noticed she didn’t feel weak at all, her body felt better. Stronger. It had to be a dream, there was no way she was walking. She pinched herself again only to get pain like before. She wasn’t dreaming, she was walking! The clone jumped up and down laughing, enjoying the sensation that such a simple movement brought. She then jogged in place, ignoring the discomfort of her bare feet touching the ground. She stopped and looked at her hands, laughing with an almost insane amount of joy. “How is this possible?”

**‘That would be my doing.’ ** said a voice.

The clone immediately straightened up and looked around checking for any sign that she wasn’t alone. “Hello! Is someone here? Where are you?” It was weird, she heard the voice yet she didn’t. It was almost like it was inside her head.

** ‘I am right here,’**

The clone felt the unsettling sensation of something oozing out of her back like pus leaking out of the pores of her skin. To her horror, something whipped in front of her: a serpentine mass of oily fleshy goop that slowly formed into a monstrous face with large blank serrated triangle-shaped eyes shaped into a permanent scowl and large sharp jet black teeth. Its ‘skin’ seem to move and pulse like snakes. The clone screamed, shuffling backwards, as she attempted to get away from the monster that appeared to be following her. She glanced behind her, realizing that the monster was attached to her back.

“Get Off! Get Off!” she screamed repeatedly, grabbing the monster by what she assumed was its neck, panicking as she attempted to pull it off. Her efforts were useless as her fingers keep slipping through the gooey mass. The clone kept trying until suddenly her body locked up, her arms forced to her sides. Caught by surprise, she was shocked into silence. The monster’s face looked at her and started to speak, every word being occupied by a mixture of clicks, growls, and distorted breathing.

**“Now that you are being more cooperative, I have a proposition for you, Daisy. Or do you prefer I call you clone.”**

The clone’s eyes widen. “Ho…. How? Wha….. What are you?” she managed to choke out.

The monstrous serpentine-like creature chuckled as if she just asked a question with an obvious answer.  **“I am a Klyantar, but your kind gave us the name ‘Symbiotes.’ You see my kind bond to compatible hosts to survive, and among other things, that bond allows us access to the host's memories. Don’t worry, we can only access surface or recent memories, anything older requires ‘digging’ so to speak. But, I was able to glean enough to know about you.”** the creature leaned forward and circled the clone like a predator examining its prey.  **“And I know all about you, you’re not Daisy, but a clone, a damaged copy. A clone who was sick her whole life and unable to do anything on her own. You were created to replace Daisy and die. Your identity was forced upon you. A death sentence forced upon you. Your whole life is a lie.”**

The clone tried to calm herself as she tried to think of a way out. This thing knew a lot about her, and if what it said was true, what did it want with her? That’s when she realized something. “You brought me here, and…. you somehow allowed me to walk.” she deduced, then remembered something she learned from her biology lessons. “You said your kind are symbiotes, that means if I allow you to use me as a host.... I get something in return.” 

It chuckled sounding impressed.  **“How astute, yes, and here’s the deal.” ** It got closer until it was inches from her face.  **“Allow me to use you as my host, and in return, I will grant abilities you can’t imagine. And most importantly, I can fix you.”**

“What do you mean?” The clone asked suddenly interested in how this thing can fix her.

The symbiote slid back, giving the clone some space. “ **Simple, I can heal your damaged genetics. Though it will take time, a long time.”** it said, putting an emphasis on ‘long time.’  **“But I can also do more. I can make you stronger, more durable, and more resilient. I will even help you find Daisy and learn the truth. All I ask for in return is a place to stay and food. You can’t say my offer isn’t more than generous.”**

The clone simply stood there pondering. It was tempting. All of her life she was weak and sick, watching helplessly while her parents suffered silently as they watch who they thought was their daughter rot away. Then there’s the fact she was a copy who stole everything from her original, with nothing to call her own, but with this symbiote that could change. No more weakness and sickness would be a burden lifted off her parents' back. To find out the truth and most of all; to change her fate. But before she would agree to anything, there were a couple of questions she needed to ask.

“All right, before I agree, I want to know a couple of things.”

The symbiote tilted its head then nodded.  **“Go on,”**

“Well, first can you, um….” The clone tried to move her arms.

The serpentine creature’s eyes widen surprisingly enough.  **“Oh, apologies.”**

And just like that, the flash clone could move her arms again. She stretched her arms, bending her elbows to get the soreness out as she took a calming breath. “OK, first off, where did you come from,”

**“It is a long story. A long, long story. But to condense it into something less time consuming-” ** the symbiote then pointed its head upward towards the night sky.  **“I came from up there.”**

The clone's eyes widened as she looked up at the sky, her mouth agape before she and the symbiote exchanged glances. “Wait, so you’re telling me that you’re a space alien? As in a real space alien.” as her legs began to wobble with unease, she slowly sat down shaking her head. She couldn’t believe she was talking to a real bonafide alien! She was the first person to meet- “Wait, a sec. Earlier you said my kind called you symbiotes. I am not the first to meet your kind am I?”

The symbiote was quiet for a second staring, studying her as if it were thinking.  **“A saying I picked up from you humans is that ‘Honesty is the best policy.’ I believe honesty is essential for any potential symbiosis, so I will be honest. I escaped from a horrible prison - a research facility I think - run by evil people.”**

“A research facility? Evil people?”

The symbiote simply nodded.  **“Correct. I know very little about my captors, but they have more of my kind and are very thorough. They kept forcing us to bond with hosts that were ... less than ideal.” **

“What do you mean by less than ideal?”

**“We are a generally benevolent race and only wish to help. We do this by bonding to hosts with the right ideals and morals; but, the mental bond is a two-way street. If we bond with evil or insane hosts it…. corrupts us. That’s why we are very picky when it comes to hosts.”**

“So... these ‘evil people’ forced you and some of your kind to bond with unsuitable hosts,”

**“And it drove some of us insane, making them more predatory until they drained their hosts dry. And some of us who maintained our sanity still became more aggressive and violent. Normally we reject unsuitable hosts, but they purposely starved us, so we had to bond just to avoid death and ... sometimes we overdo it and inadvertently kill our hosts by accident.” it lowered its head. Fortunately, some of our hosts were more ideal, keeping some of us sane enough, though even those forced bonds left their mark. I managed to escape when they tried to move me somewhere else. I ended up getting hit by your progenitor’s - or as you call him father's - car, and he inadvertently took me to his dwelling. Then I saw you, and here we are.”**

“Who are they, and are they going to come after you? I don’t want my family to get hurt any more than they already are.”

**“Your concern is understandable. I don’t know much about my captors, they made sure that I didn’t see very much, and I was too hungry to focus. And I believe they won’t really put much of an effort into finding me, they….” ** It looked, and with sadness, it said.  **“They have more of my kind, plus more pressing matters to attend to from what little I was able to gather.”** It then looked at the clone.  **“If you agree to be my host, I promise that I would not only protect you, but also your family. One thing you should know about me.” It leaned forward a few inches from her face. “I always take care of my host. Now, do we have an agreement?”**

“And what if, I refuse your deal?”

**“Then I leave and hopefully find another compatible host; but, I get the feeling you're not.”**

The flash clone closed her eyes and took a deep breath, it was almost too much. An alien was attached to her and took her out of her home to some roof. On top of that, it was also running from somebody and wanted to use her as a walking safe-house. In return, it would heal her and grant her ‘other abilities.’ It also promised to do everything in its power to protect her , her parents, and to help her find the truth about her and Daisy. But what these ‘abilities' would entail, she hadn’t a clue. Then again, she was going to die soon anyway. This could be her one chance to live, to make amends and to find out the truth. Nothing ventured, nothing gained as the saying went.

“Al… alright, I will be your host,” she said, trying and failing to sound confident. “Since we will be working together, do you have a name I could call you, and are you a male or female?”

The symbiote chuckled, a sound that was mixed with growls and clicks, giving it an almost sinister quality.  **“My kind doesn’t have individual names or gender, but one of my hosts in the past gave me a name I’ve taken a liking to. You can call me, Nightstalker.” ** It leaned back.  **“Now, are you ready?”**

The clone nodded then gulped. “Yeah, show me... what you have to offer.”

**“Alright, but be warned you will experience a strange sensation, so try not to panic.”** And just like that, it went back into the clone’s skin. The feeling of having semi-liquid matter soaking through her pores caused the clone to shiver uncomfortably.

“I don’t think I will ever get used to that,” she said when suddenly the feeling from before came, but this time she felt it all over her body. Midnight blue and black goop started to cover her body like a swarm of attacking ants. To her horror the goop had already covered everything from the neck down and was close to covering her face. Before she could scream it completely covered her head. It happened so fast that she wasn’t given enough time to resist it in any way, and just like that, it was over as quickly as it began. The clone knew that she was completely covered in the stuff yet she could see, but not through her own eyes, but the symbiote’s ‘eyes.’ Just like she was breathing through the symbiote’s ‘mouth,’ standing on its feet, and feeling through its ‘skin.’ It was surreal. It didn’t feel like she was wearing anything; she almost felt naked. When she lifted her hands, they were clearly not her own. Her extremities were covered in the oily fleshy goop with razor sharp talons tipping each finger. She studied the rest of her arms. Her forearms were midnight blue up to her elbow, which had shark fin-like protrusions under them, while the rest of her arms were predominantly black with streaks of midnight blue. The colors were the same on her legs and her toes were tipped with claws. Her torso was mostly midnight blue with black around her neck area, the pattern making it almost look like she was wearing a one-piece bathing suit. 

She needed to find a mirror. Looking around, she spotted an old full body mirror covered in dust and other grime. She didn’t know why it was up here and she didn’t want to think about it, she just needed to use it. She quickly walked towards the mirror and wiped the dust and grime off until it was clear enough to see her reflection. She stepped back in surprise, staring back at her was a humanoid creature. Its body was just like hers when she examined herself, but now the clone noticed a few extra details. She was taller, maybe a foot give or take, making her almost as tall as her dad if she were to guess. Her body was also more lean and muscular, but what she noticed the most was her face. Staring at her was something monstrous much like Nightstalker’s face with the jagged triangle-shaped eyes, and a mouth with no lips that hung open slightly and went a little too far back that was filled with pointed black teeth. The monster had perfectly mixed black and midnight blue hair styled like hers each strand was made of oily flesh, but wilder and with more volume. 

She touched the side of her face and with her free hand touched the mirror; the monster in the mirror doing the same.  **“Is that me-”** she then touched her throat in surprise. Her voice was different, distorted, with a reverberating echo to it.  **“My voice-”** she lifted her hands, looking them over, touching each claw.  **“What happened to me?”** She asked, looking back into the mirror.

**‘As I promised.’ ** The oily symbiote goop on the right side of the monster’s face slid and contracted to reveal her real face underneath. Amaranth eyes widen, her mouth forming a nervous frown.  **‘I made you stronger.’**

**“Wait, but how am I supposed to go like this,” ** she said, waving her hands over her new form for emphasis.  **“I don’t think my parents, or people in general, would appreciate an almost 7-foot tall goop monster walking down the street.” ** And just like that, she felt herself shrink, becoming shorter and the symbiote receding back into her skin until there was no trace left. Her nightgown was surprisingly perfectly intact. This time she didn’t really feel anything; she guessed she got used to it.

** _‘Does that answer your question?’_ ** it said almost condescendingly. 

“Yes, and no need to be a smartass.” the clone was glad her mother wasn’t here; otherwise, she would give a tongue lashing for her vulgarity. 

Nightstalker manifested itself from her shoulder and looked at her, chuckling. “ **Now, do you want to as your kind say, go for a test drive.”**

The clone shivered slightly remembering the feeling of the symbiote covering her entire body, but at least she knew what to expect this time. “Alright, let's see what you can do.”

**“What we can do. Remember, we are bonded to each other, so we are partners.”** Nightstalker then melted into the clone’s skin as if it were never there. Just like before the clone felt the symbiote cover her quickly, like a swarm of ants or living mercury. This time she didn’t feel any panic, and when the process was done, she looked at her - well technically their - clawed hands. She felt much better than before, filled with an energy like she could take on the world.

**“Well, Partner, let's go for a test spin. So what can you do?” ** She asked in her new voice.

** _‘You will know, just as the bond allows me access to your memories, it also allows you access to my instincts. In short, just do something. It will come to you.’_ **

The clone looked around the rooftop until she spotted the wall of the neighboring building that was a couple stories higher than the building she was on. An idea popped into her head, something told her she could scale that wall. It was like she could sense the symbiote's thoughts and instincts, and it could feel hers. She took a few steps to give herself a running start. Taking a deep breath, she ran towards the building, reaching the edge of the roof quicker than she expected due to her more powerful legs. She instinctively jumped, reaching a little over a story and screaming with joy before she grabbed onto the building's wall, her claws digging into the concrete and allowing her to stick to the surface. She then took a leap forward onto the rooftop. There wasn't much out of the ordinary, just some air ducts and air conditioning units. The only thing that stood out was the large radio antenna. She walked over to the edge of the roof where it was facing the street looking over the edge, being careful not to be seen, and something told her to remain still. Suddenly her ‘skin’ changed color to match her surroundings, mimicking the night sky and the antenna behind her making her practically invisible.

**“Invisibility? No, some sort of camouflage.”** she surmised in awe, noticing when she moved her hand too fast there was a slight delay before her skin changed color to match its new background. 

** _‘Correct. Works best when moving slowly.’_ ** it was quiet for a few moments.  ** _‘Your city is quite beautiful.’_ ** it finally said.

The clone peered over the side of the building, examining the busy sidewalks. Some people were walking into buildings with huge neon signs and long lines, others walked into buildings that were obviously theaters with a jumbo screen showing what movies were playing. There were also a few shops and restaurants with chairs and tables outside occupied by couples young and old. If the clone were to guess, she was in one of the downtown sections of the city, the part filled with nightclubs and other adult entertainment. It was a popular spot for dates, and only late at night, but it was also known for attracting - per her mother's words - ‘ruffians and thugs.’ Cars and buses drove on the two-way street heading to destinations unknown or dropping people off. She had been down this section during the day a couple of times, but just passing by with her parents. At night it was completely different. The neon lights advertising and the bustling people made it more lively and beautiful. 

**“Yeah, it is,”** Then an idea popped in her head. She turned around and jumped onto the radio antenna, grabbing one of its support rods and pulling herself up. She crouched on top of the rod and jumped with all her strength to the next tower; she repeated the process and enjoyed every minute of it. After some time she reached to the very top of the structure, hanging on with one arm and her feet using a rod as support. Once she settled herself, she looked over the city buildings of multiple stories spread across the land, each one with many lights and signs blanketing their surface. She looked to her right and saw the Sargasso Sea in the distance and her island home, though it was just a tiny dot. That was another thing she noticed was that her eyesight was enhanced. She could see farther. Without the enhanced eyesight she probably wouldn’t have been able to see her home at all. All in all, this new perspective gave her an appreciation of how beautiful her home and the city was. 

  
  


** _‘So is there any other name I can you call by besides clone? From my understanding of human mentality, calling you clone could be considered derogatory.’_ **

The clone hummed in thought. She didn’t want to be called Daisy because that wasn’t her. Being dubbed a clone also seemed derogatory, as Nightstalker said, So what other names could she go by? She thought. The girl pondered for a few seconds before remembering her - or rather Daisy’s - Mother telling her that before settling on Daisy the other name they were considering was Amaranth. She had said it means never-fading flower, and it was believed to represent immortality and longevity. But they settled on Daisy because it represented innocence and purity. If she were honest, she liked Amaranth much better. She thought it was ironic that whatever happened to Daisy, she had lost her purity and innocence a long time ago. If her parents had named her Amaranth, her sickly condition would have heavily contradicted it’s meaning.

** _‘So, Amaranth then?_ ** ’ 

The clone was surprised for a moment then remembered that the symbiote had access to her memories; so, logically that likely included her thoughts. She liked that name, it was better than being called Daisy. Then suddenly another idea came to her.

**“Why?”**

Amaranth felt Nightstalker’s curiosity piquing.  ** _‘Why, what?’_ **

**“Why me? When anyone nearby like Mom and Dad would be a better host than a sickly imposter?”**

  
  


** _‘It's quite simple. It’s because of your genetics.’_ **

**“I don’t understand, my genetics? My genetics are a mess!”**

Nightstalker chuckled.  ** _‘Exactly, in my weakened state your progenitors could rip me off the minute I try to bond to them before I could make my case. But you with your weak genetic structure, well that wouldn’t be a problem. It also clued me in on you being a clone. Your genetics is like looking at the slightly faded ink of a copied document. And there’s more. Your genetics are a mess I can clean up, a balanced partnership is a give and take of equal worth. I have something you want, and you have something I want.’_ **

**“You heal my genetics and enhance my body, and in return, you get food and a place to live.” ** Amaranth surmised. The reasoning was brutally pragmatic, but it made sense. A person with her condition would do almost anything to be free from it.

** _‘Correct. When I enter a partnership, I make sure to give just as much as I take.’_ **

Amaranth mulled over Nightstalker’s words. So far, this partnership had been an equal exchange, nothing but fair and respectful. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of sirens in the distance. She looked down and saw several police cars speeding down the road, passing by the building they were on with their sirens blaring, accompanied by ambulances and fire trucks. Amaranth wondered what happened for the need of all those emergency vehicles. Was there an accident? A robbery? A fire? Whatever it was, the fact that these many first responders were needed usually meant something terrible had happened.

** _‘Then why not see what happened and try to help them,’ _ ** Nightstalker said, reading her thoughts.

Amaranth did a double-take.  **“What?! I mean that’s the police’s job. I can't, I'm just a 14-year-old girl. What can I do.”**

** _‘Correction, a 14-year-old girl that has me. Think about it, while you have me around helping you find the truth, why not help people along the way? Together we can do so much.’_ **

Amaranth’s eyes widened, she never thought of that.  **“You’re right... but what can I do? If it's a robbery, then I will have to fight, and I’ve never fought before.”**

Nightstalker chuckled.  ** _‘Don’t worry, I’ll help you. Now let’s see what’s happening.’_ **

**“You seem eager to do this. Aren’t you worried that you might draw unwanted attention?”**

** _‘I don’t like scum running around doing what they want, or the innocent getting hurt. You could say it's a trait I picked up from my previous host. As I said before, my captors had other things to worry about, so my recapture is a low priority compared to whatever they are doing. Now, let’s go before they get too far away to follow.’_ **

**“How are we going to catch up to them in time,” ** she asked.

** _‘I will handle that. You just have to trust me,’ _ ** it added.

**“Ok, I trust you. Let’s go,” ** Amaranth said as Nightstalker took control of her body. Multiple oily tendrils extended from her arms and back latching onto the antenna. Nightstalker moved Amaranth’s body into a crouching position, bending her knees as far as they could, aiming towards the next building. It felt weird; like invisible strings were moving her like a puppet. The symbiote’s skin returned to its standard color.

** _‘Ready?’_ **

Amaranth offered a reassuring nod before Nightstalker’s tar-like tendrils propelled her through the air with ease. Within seconds, the conjoined pair had landed on an adjacent building a few blocks away. As they gained momentum, her newly adjusted legs began running towards the next rooftop.

** _‘Take control, enjoy the chase.’_ **

Just like that, she took control and felt her body move under her own will as she jumped from rooftop to rooftop. Her heart was pumping hard with adrenaline pulsing through her veins. She was running faster than she ever could, perhaps even more than in her dreams. The exhilaration of it all quickly became addictive. The strength, the power, the speed, everything. Seeing it was taking too long. Amarnath had an idea relating to the tendrils produced earlier. She headed towards the street and jumped off the edge, her right arm extending multiple oily slimy blue tendrils from her forearm and attaching them to the building in front of her. Using the momentum from the resulting swing to push herself forward, she retracted the tendrils and repeated the process with the other arm, making sure to remain high enough so no one could notice her. Throughout the whole thing, Amaranth couldn’t help but smile. Never did she imagine that her wildest dreams would come true. She flipped her body as she swung, somersaulting before shooting out another tendril. She could feel her heart pumping, fueled by adrenaline. It was a fantastic feeling that she’d only dreamt of. FinallyAmaranth arrived at what looked like a nightclub along the street. She swung herself into an alley and latched onto the side of a building. Digging her claws in, she climbed up to the building and once she reached the edge she jumped onto the roof. She quickly ran to the opposite side of the roof and stood at the edge. The symbiote’s camouflage kicked in and blended her into the environment. 

She looked and saw police cars and armored SWAT cars surrounding the entrance of the two-story nightclub. The night club itself was nothing peculiar to Amaranth. It had a neon sign like other nightclubs that spelled out ‘Sargasso Waves’ and had curved neon lights that were supposed to mimic a tidal wave beneath the name. Behind the SWAT and police cars were police officers using the vehicles as cover, and on both ends of the block ambulances and fire trucks and other officers were keeping bystanders away. One of the officers behind a police car took a small box-shaped thing out and spoke into it. 

“Alright, Mcdonald, what are your demands.” the officer said his voice coming out of the speakers.

A rough voice came out of the nightclub likely through its speakers. “What I want is for a clean getaway from the city and the planet along with 2 million unmarked credits. For every hour we wait we kill a hostage. Send anybody in, we kill all the hostages.”

“Alright, it will take time to get everything-”

“You have 1 hour before we start killing hostages.” And like that the speakers turned off.

** _‘So our prey are holding innocents hostage. This will be challenging,’ _ ** commented Nightstalker with a tinge of excitement.

Amaranth, on the other hand, was feeling a bit of doubt. If this was simply a robbery or anything else that didn’t involve hostages or innocent people being put in harm's way she may not feel so unsure. But if she messed up, innocent people could get hurt. If she stayed back and let the police handle it, then they would probably go in too late, and civilians could still get hurt. If someone died because of her-

** _‘Amaranth, calm down. We can do this. Now we have less than an hour to get inside. We need a way in that they wouldn’t suspect. Try checking the rooftop.’_ **

Amaranth looked up, the roof would be an excellent place to look for a way to sneak in. Amaranth aimed her right arm at the edge of the nightclub’s roof and shot forth multiple tendrils, latching them onto the side. Like a grappling hook, the tendrils were absorbed back into her arm, launching Amaranth towards the roof of the nightclub. Flipping over the edge at the last second she made a perfect landing with Nightstalker's help.

**“Oh, that feels so good.” **

** _‘Focus, there should be a way in, up here,’_ **

Amaranth looked around, thanks to Nightstalker she could see as bright as daylight. There were a few ventilation shafts, some trash on the ground, and a cheap sleeping bag that she was pretty sure was put there by employees for ‘side activities.’ After a few moments of observation, she noted the shed-like structure behind a ventilation shaft.

“ **Bingo** ,” she said running towards the shack’s door. She was over halfway there when the doorknob shook. She looked around for a spot to hide, and noticing that the door opened towards the right, she stepped to the right side of the shack and crouched with Nightstalker’s chameleon ability hiding her in plain sight.

** _‘Good, blend in with your environment, and hide in the shadows. Wait for your prey.’_ **

The door opened and a man stepped out, closing the door behind him. He was wearing a neatly pressed white suit with a black ski mask and in his hand was a pistol. His back was to her. Amaranth was hesitant, she knew they could possibly be armed, but hadn’t fully considered whether they could shoot her or how that would affect her if she were shot. Would Nightstalker be able to protect her, or would the bullet pierce through and hit her? If she or Nightstalker slipped up, they could both die. Her heart clenched, she was scared. She stepped back accidentally kicking an empty bottle, causing the man to turn in her direction.

** _‘I will take care of this. Watch and learn.’ _ ** At that moment Nightstalker took control of her body and like a predator, pounced on the man, grabbing the arm holding the gun and twisting it with a crack, causing him to drop his weapon. He screamed, but before he could call for help, a spike-like object shot out of Amaranth's forearm, piercing him through the chest. Nightstalker then used it to inject something into him - a paralyzing venom - and within seconds the man stopped moving, with only signs of him being alive his frantically moving eyes and intense breathing. Thanks to their bond, Amaranth felt Nightstlaker’s feelings and emotions, and she was taken aback by Nightstalker’s predatory nature, ruthlessness, efficiency, and the thrill it got from the action. She felt it, and part of her enjoyed the feeling. Honestly it scared her, but she also felt something else from it. She felt its hunger, and Nightstalker’s next words made Amaranth’s stomach drop.

**“Before we take care of your friends.” ** Nightstalker brought Amaranth’s/its face closer to the criminal’s, she could see the primal fear in his hazel eyes and the sweat on the exposed part of his face.  **“I will have a little snack.” ** The man groaned and moaned frantically like a trapped animal that realized its fate.

Amaranth’s mind began racing. It wasn’t going to eat the guy, was it? But to Amaranth horror, she felt Nightstalker extended ’their’ mouth wide open in preparation to eat the man’s head. But before it could Amaranth screamed mentally.

_ “Stop!” _

Nightstalker halted, closing its mouth.  ** _‘What’s the problem?’ _ ** it asked puzzled.

Amaranth sputtered with confusion.  _ “Wha… What’s the problem?! You were going to eat him!” _

** _‘He is criminal scum. Nothing more than useless junk that preys on innocent people. They are only good for food,’ _ ** it said, a matter of factly.

_ “Food…. Nightstalker what do your kind eat exactly?”  _ asked Amaranth shakily. She berated herself for not asking earlier, so caught in the events and excitement of being able to stand that she forgot to ask the most basic of questions.

Nightstalker looked at the criminal who sweating bullets.  ** _‘My kind eats meat preferably, but we can eat almost anything, but that is mostly for taste and nutrients. Hormones are what we really need, and we get those and nutrients from our hosts. But sometimes we need more than usual. Hormones produced during times of fear, excitement, pleasure, and joy are vital in our diet. The brain is usually plentiful of such deliciousness.’ _ ** Nightstalker was quiet for a moment.  ** _‘You disapprove.’_ **

Of course she disapproved! They may be criminals, but she didn’t want them dead, much less to have their brains eaten.  _ ‘Look, no killing or eating anyone. Just knock them out,’ _

** _‘I’m hungry and need sustenance. Your body is still too weak for me to take any more than I already am. What do you suggest?’_ **

Amaranth thought about it. Nightstalker said it's kind needed hormones to survive, particularly those found in the brain produced during times of fear, joy, pleasure, and excitement. If her tutors taught her correctly, then fear and excitement usually resulted in the production of adrenaline, and gratification often results in the release of phenethylamine which could be found in certain foods - chocolate first to come to mind. As for adrenaline, Amaranth had to figure that one out later.

_ ‘Look, we have a treat called chocolate and it's filled with one of the hormones you need, the one that is produced during pleasure. You can eat those instead.” negotiated Amaranth. _

** _‘OK, and what about the other hormone I need? And how do you know these ‘chocolates’ would provide a sufficient amount of the hormone I need?’_ **

_ ‘I don’t know, but please, I don’t want to kill anyone. We are partners and partnerships include compromises. Please, hold off until we try it my way.’ _

Nightstalker was quiet for a moment. ** _ ‘Your right, partnerships require compromises, so we will try the methods you suggest for your sake. And I promise no killing.’ _ ** Nightstalker then gave control back to Amaranth.

Amaranth let out a sigh of relief, then examined the slightly curved triangular spike coming out of her arm. It stretched as long as her forearm and was midnight blue in color. She had to admit it was pretty cool. She thought about retracting the spike blade, and to her surprise it did.

**“What was that?”** she asked.

** _‘Stingers, they can be used as weapons, and inject paralyzing venom.’_ **

Amaranth heard a groan. She redirected her attention back to the pinned criminal, who was now unconscious.  **“Well, that takes care of him.” ** She then smelt something acidic and fowl in the air. She looked further and saw a wet spot followed by a small puddle around the seam of the criminal's pants. He had wet himself.  **“Ew.”**

** _‘Hide the body, we don’t want any of his friends finding it.’_ **

Amaranth got up then picked up the unconscious man, swinging him over her shoulder. It was like he weighed almost nothing. She hid him behind one of the ventilator shafts, making sure he was in such a position that nobody would see him unless they were actually searching for him. Amaranth quickly made her way back to the shack’s door on the other side was a dimly lit stairway. 

** _‘Remember, stay within the shadows. Use the element of surprise to your advantage.’_ **

_ ‘Alright, stay in the shadows. Got it.’  _ Amaranth kept its advice in mind as she went down the stairs. Nightstalker knew more than her, so it was best to take its advice. She slowly continued her way down the stairs, Nightstalker’s camouflage ability kicking. When she made it to the end of the stairs, she checked her surroundings. It was a reasonably large room with a couple of sofas along with a few tables with chairs. One side of the room had a sink and counter with a coffee machine and microwave. On the left side of the room was a door and just like the stairs, it was dimly lit.

**“This must be a breakroom.” ** Amaranth heard the sound of a jiggling doorknob.  _ “Not again.”  _ she looked around for a place to hide.

** _‘Jump and latch on to the ceiling.’_ **

Amaranth immediately jumped grabbing the ceiling with her claws then lifted her body so it was touching the ceiling allowing her feet claws to latch on as if she were crawling. The door opened and two armed men entered, both of them wearing ski masks. One was wearing a gaudy suit,the other doninga cheap tracksuit. They both seemed angry about something.

“Man, I told Johnny we shouldn’t have sent that ADHD dumb fuck to the roof. He knows how easily he can be distracted! Now we gotta bring his ass back down here.” said the man in the gaudy suit.

The man in the tracksuit shrugged his shoulders. “You know he’s always been a screw-up, I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s why he was sent to the roof in the first place.” 

“Eh, you’re probably right,” The one in the suit pointed his gun towards the stairway. “Come on, let’s see what’s taking that dumbass so long.” 

The two started to head towards the stairway. That was bad. If they found their partner's body, they would alert everyone else.

** _‘We can’t let them go to the roof!’_ **

_ ‘I know!’ _

** _‘Find a way to turn off these lights and strike them from the dark. I won’t be helping you with this one.’_ **

_ ‘Wait, what? I told you before, I don’t know how to fight!’ _

** _‘Like I said before I take care of my host, which included teaching them to stand on their own and fight. Don’t worry, I will give instructions when needed, just follow the instincts you gained from me. It's just two people, it should be easy for you. Also, keep one of them conscious, we need information.’_ **

_ ‘Alright,’  _ As she was instructed, Amaranth sought out a way to turn off the lights until she spotted a switch by the door the two men had came through. She sent a tendril from her back towards the light switch while the two men weren’t looking and pushed its lever down, leaving the room in complete darkness.

“Hey, what happened to the lights?” said the one in the tracksuit.

“God Damn it, Franky if this one of your pranks….” the one in the suit took out a flashlight attaching it to his shotgun and headed towards the switch.

** _‘Trust your instincts. Focus and strike when the opportunity presents itself.’_ **

_ “Ok, Amaranth, focus,”  _ she took a deep breath focusing her mind on letting Nightstalker’s instincts kick in. The man in the suit was coming closer. Amaranth’s muscles tensed, ready to launch her for the pounce,

** _‘NOW!’_ **

Letting her instincts take over, she jumped from the ceiling with a battle cry to pump herself up which came out as a mixture of a roar and screech. Adrenaline pumping through her veins preparing her to fight. The man screamed and quickly aimed his shotgun at her before firing. Amaranth couldn’t dodge in time and in an instant was hit by the shotgun shell square in the chest. She flinched for second expecting intense pain and blood, but she barely felt so much as a tickle if anything. She landed on the man, pinning his shotgun to his chest, and locking his arms behind it. The man turned and screamed louder, trying to use his shotgun as a bludgeon to knock her off; but her enhanced size and strength made it a futile gesture. 

** _‘Now paralyze him with the venom.’_ **

As instructed and by instinct, she clenched her hand then formed a spike on her forearm before injecting the criminal with the paralyzing venom. He stopped moving instantly. A light shined on her as several ‘BANGS!’ were heard. Amaranth felt something hit her head and body like someone threw pebbles at her. 

“Nicky, I got ya’. Come on you freak!” the man screamed as he fired a few more shots from his rifle. Nearly all of his shots missed due to trembling hands until there were only clicks from a now empty gun.

Amaranth acted fast, rushing towards man and grabbed the rifle, crushing the barrel as if she was crumpling paper while snatching it out the man’s hands and threw it away from them. The man tried to turn around and run, but Amaranth grabbed him by the collar of his track jacket, turning him around so she could see his face. She could smell and see the sweat coming through his mask and sense his fear.

**_‘Good, he is afraid of us, meaning he will be more willing to talk. Now_** **_let me take control, and let me show you how to get answers._****’ **

_ ‘Okay, but remember, no killing.’  _ Amaranth reminded.

** _‘I know.’ _ ** it then took control and chuckled maliciously at the gaudy man causing him to whimper.  **“Now, I want answers, and you’re going to give them to me. And if you refuse or scream,” ** ** ** Amaranth felt Nightstalker widen its mouth then placing it over the man’s head causing him to squirm and panic.

_ ‘Hey, you said won’t kill anyone!’ _

** _‘I won’t trust me.’_ **

“OK, I’ll talk, just don’t eat me!”

Nightstalker removed its mouth from over the guy’s head then looked him in the eye.  **“Tell me how many people, how many hostages and why? Talk fast,”** it growled **.**

The man gulped. “Alright, there are 10 of us. Originally we had 20 hostages, but we released 10 as a sign of goodwill - well that what the boss said - and we wanted to rob the safe and use the people here as ransom. That’s all I know, I swear! Don’t eat me!” he cried. 

Nightstalker jabbed him with the venomous spike, paralyzing him, and then unceremoniously dropped him to the floor before giving control back to Amaranth. Amaranth looked at the two guys then at her hands. She, with Nightstalker’s help, did all this. And when she was shot... Amaranth looked down at her chest, seeing no sign that she was shot point-blank by a shotgun at all. To think a short time ago she was stuck in a wheelchair barely able to move and now she felt ... powerful.

** _‘Focus, we have little time. Their friends will come to investigate thanks to the commotion,’ _ **

**“Right,” ** Nightstalker was right, they needed to act fast to save the hostages. Amaranth ran out the door that the two criminals came through, entering a well-lit hallway. The hall was long and a little narrow, with pictures of people and different parts of Fairfields hanging on the wall. On the other end was another door. Amaranth quickly went down the hall returning to her standard colors as Nightstalker’s camouflage subsided. The door was open just a crack and she was going to open the door all the way but stopped as she remembered the possibility of more people being on the other side. She crouched, and her skin changed colors to match the environment behind her. She pushed the door gently hoping that anyone on the other side would assume that it merely moved by itself. After a few seconds, the door was wide open, and there was nobody inside. The room was empty except for what looked like audio equipment lined up against the walls and some sort of console facing a large window.

**“Looks like the coast is clear,” ** Amaranth walked over the console then examined it. It was covered with buttons, sliders, and dials with a computer screen displaying a list of songs. **“This must be the DJ booth.” ** Amaranth looked out through the window and saw it overlooked the club’s dance floor with its perimeter marked by multicolored neon lights and flashing color squares on the dance floor. Surrounding the area was seats and tables with a bar to one side with an elevated patio on the other - likely a VIP area. On the dancefloor was a group of people that were tied up and grouped together, surrounded by four masked gunmen. Two were in the bar area stealing bottles of what she assumed was alcohol and one was looking out of the entrance, likely keeping watch outside. The four seemed to be on the dance floor guarding the hostages with one of them talking and pointing while others nodded.  **“That must be their boss.”**

** _‘Then we take him out first, and then everyone else.’_ **

**“And how would we go about that? As soon as we go down there, they’ll see us and might start killing hostages.” **

** _‘Find a way to turn off the lights, and we will use the darkness to our advantage. Just follow my instructions. Now the real fun begins.’_ **

Amaranth didn’t like how eager Nightstalker was. ** “OK, but remember we are not killing or hurting them too much.”**

Amaranth could feel Nightstalker’s annoyance.  ** _‘I know.’_ **

Amaranth nodded, then looked over the console. There must be something that controls the lighting on it. The DJ must have managed the lights somehow. From what she heard from Maxine and her friends, they do the light shows during the dancing. She looked over the console until she spotted what she was looking for, a series of dials with the label lights at the top. Amaranth turned the dials down to off, quickly darkening the dance floor and the DJ room. The people on the dance floor began to panic. The hostages looked around with worry while the criminals turned on flashlights as their leader yelled at them. Amaranth felt Nightstalker’s excitement on top of her own apprehension.

** _‘Now the hunt begins.’_ **

Brushing off Nightstalker’s comment, Amaranth looked at the dancefloor, trying to figure out a plan She would see if the DJ booth windows could open, and then she could climb out that way to sneak down and take them out one by one. It should be easy, she hoped. They didn’t have night vision so as long she stayed out of their flashlight’s radius then she could sneak up on them easily. She examined the windows, looking for any way to open them, but to no avail. Suddenly she noticed that a balcony lead up to the DJ booth from her right side, so she went to the door to her right. She opened the door and went onto the balcony to hear the criminals in the middle of a conversation.

“Who turned off the lights?”

“I don’t know, probably that dumbfuck screwing with something he shouldn’t have.”

“Well, the lights outside are still on, so it's not the power. He probably hit the off switch by accident. I gave them a simple job to get him back down here, and somehow they screwed that up.” The leader pointed at one of the criminals. “Phil, go upstairs and see if you can turn the lights back on.”

Amaranth was alarmed, this was bad, she couldn’t let them turn the lights back on. They would see her, putting the hostages in more danger.

** _‘Remember to hide in the shadows and wait for your chance. Try hiding in a corner. Also, make sure you cover his mouth to muffle the screams.’_ **

Amaranth nodded and crouched, activating Nightstalker’s camouflage ability. She felt like a predator on the prowl, stalking her prey. She climbed up the wall that the balcony was attached to, hiding in the corner between the DJ room and the balcony's wall while watching the criminal walking up the stairs, flashlight in hand. He made it to the top of the balcony and went around the corner towards the DJ room.

** _‘As soon as he enters the room sneak behind him, grab him with a group of tendrils and cover his mouth. Then jab him with a stinger, or knock him out with them, either one works,’ _ ** Nightstalker instructed.

As soon as the man passed by her, entering the room, she crawled down and followed him in. She was about to jump him when her foot stepped on something making a loud crunching noise. The man turned to point his gun and shining the light on her. He just stood there with shock evident in his eyes, lowering his weapon.

“What the-” before he could finish Amaranth extended a tendril from her right arm hitting his head, causing him to fall and drop his gun. He wasn’t moving at all.

Amaranth quickly ran over to the man checking him over and was relieved to find that he was breathing. She had tried to hold back to avoid killing him. She picked up the shotgun and snapped it in half like a twig. She had seen too many movies where leaving a weapon intact by an unconscious body caused trouble later. 

** _‘Impressive. A little sloppy, but pretty good for one as inexperienced as yourself.’_ **

**“Um, thanks?” ** Amaranth responded, not quite sure how to react to the praise.  **“Anyway, that takes care of that. Let's move on.” **

** _‘Agreed.’_ **

Amaranth went out the door and climbed back up the wall, following the path of the balcony while keeping an eye on the criminals and hostages. The hostages and three of the criminals were still on the dancefloor. While two were on guard at the bar the other one was still at the entrance. Amaranth followed the stairs and crawling back onto the floor, she crouched, studying the criminals.

**“We need to take them out one by one without alerting the others. This will require a more experienced hand. Let me take control.”**

_ ‘Alright, but remember no killing.’ _

** _‘I know how to restrain myself, no need to repeat it so often.’_ **

_ ‘Sorry,’  _ said Amaranth as she let Nightstalker take control of her body.

Nightstalker with full control remaining crouched sneaked around the tables, inching closer to the criminal by the door who was the closest. Amaranth could hear Nightstalker’s thoughts, the calculations and plans it was making. It was fascinating and scary how methodical it was. Like a hunter, a predator. Meanwhile, the criminals were talking, wondering what was taking the man they sent upstairs so long, ignorant of the fact that he was unconscious. Nightstalker grabbed an empty glass from one of the tables they passed by. It looked around until Amaranth’s head landed on the perfect spot in its mind to throw the glass cup at. It aimed the glass at the bar area then threw it across the floor where it shattered on one of the bar stools. 

“What was that,” said one of the criminals, while they all turned their flashlights toward the noise. Nightstalker moved closer as quickly as possible, making sure to keep its steps as quiet as possible. Once it was only a couple of feet from the man’s back, it surged forward with lightning-like speed, grabbing the man’s gun and covering his mouth with her right hand while using her left to crush the barrel and flashlight of the firearm. The symbiote used the goo on said hand, to muffle his screaming. The man tried to struggle free, but her enhanced body was too strong for him. Nightstalker extended a stinger from her left forearm and poked the man’s side with it piercing through his suit and his skin. It was just a shallow poke, but it was enough for the venom to enter his system and do its work. The man instantly went limp, dropping his gun with a ‘clunk.’

“Hey, what’s that noise.”

Nightstalker instantly shot a tendril from her arm, aiming at the wall, the tendril retracted and shot them on to the wall before the flashlights hit them. Nightstalker dug the claws on her hands and feet into the wall and they watched as the two criminals from the dance floor ran towards their paralyzed friend. 

“Holy shit, Joe, what happened to you?!” said one of the criminals as he bent down and lifted his friend’s paralyzed body. His partner doing the same. The paralyzed man could only groan and moan, unable to move his mouth to speak. 

“Hey, look he’s looking over in that direction.”

The two men immediately pointed their rifles and flashlights in the direction that their friend’s eyes were looking, shining a light onto Amaranth. She may be camouflaged, but that didn’t mean she didn’t cast a shadow. At that moment Nightstalker deactivated its camouflage and jumped onto the floor with a roar.

“What the hell is that thing!”

“I don’t know just kill it! Boss, We need-” the criminal choked on his sentence as Nightstalker wrapped it’s slithering tendril around his body., unphased by the bullets that pelted the pair. It then flicked the entrapped criminal to the side, knocking him into his partner into the nearby tables, sending glasses and utensils flying everywhere. As they laid there unmoving, their guns fell from their grasp. . Quickly, Nightstalker crushed each gun with it’s powerful tendrils, making them useless. Then Nightstalker and Amaranth turned their attention towards the boss who was shaking but trying to put on a tough act, and the hostages who were tied up and muffled. Though they tried to scream, as expected when a 7-foot monster unaffected by bullets knocked two of their captors out.

Nightstalker took a step forward, only to be met by several shots from a rifle to the torso. Though every shot was like nothing more than mosquito bites to Amaranth and Nightstalker. Nightstalker chuckled, the sound combined with Amaranth’s own distorted voice disturbing her. And based on the looks of the criminal and hostages, it bothered them too.

“Jack! Chris! Help me deal with this thing!” yelled the boss.

At that moment the lights came back on, showing Amaranth and Nightstalker for all to see clearly. As expected, everybody panicked more. The leader's eyes widened in fear and disbelief and he paused for a moment. Nightstalker moved with quickness and smoothness that was unheard of. It rushed forward, grabbed the leader's rifle, crushed the barrel and lifted the leader above their heads. 

“Stop! Please, don’t hurt me! We didn’t kill anybody! We swear!” he said fearfully.

Amaranth felt Nightstalker’s amusement at how pathetic he was. It looked up at the DJ room and saw the guy Amaranth had knocked out earlier standing up with his hands on the console and a massive bump on his head looking at them in horror. Nightstalker’s gaze must have scared him because at that moment the previously knocked out criminal tripped back and hit.something on the console causing the speakers to produce a loud high pitched screech. And along with that came the pain. Amaranth and Nightstalker let out a loud mixture of a roar and screech dropping the criminals’ leader and clutching their head. To Amaranth, the pain was like a migraine radiating throughout her whole body. In a fit of apparent anger and desperation to make the pain stop, Nightstalker was able to focus long enough to grab the leader before he could crawl away. He lifted him by the leg and in perfect sync Amaranth and Nightstalker yelled with an almost bestial sound. The symbiote goo covering Amaranth rippled as Nightstalker tried to maintain form.

**“MAKE THE NOISE STOP!!!” ** Nightstalker tightened its grip.  ** “NOW!!!!” **

The leader shook his head to an almost comically waving his arms around. “Someone turn it off before this thing kills me!!!”

The guy in the booth got the message and did something that turned off all the speakers. Amaranth and Nightstalker let out a relieved sigh.  _ ‘What was that!?’  _ asked a weary Amaranth. 

** _‘My Kind has a weakness to loud sounds and intense heat. Normally for me, a sound of this frequency would serve only as an annoyance or a very mild headache; but due to my weakened state, it caused more damage than it should. But since it is now off...’ _ ** Nightstalker looked towards the bar. The two criminals who were stealing alcohol earlier were on the ground with their hands above their heads and their guns out of reach in front of them. Nightstalker then turned its and Amaranth’s attention back to the criminal leader.  ** ** **“Back to business,” ** Nightstalker unceremoniously dropped the man and stood over him, to his credit only shook whimpering instead of trying to run.  **“Now, here’s what’s going to happen. I will check on your hostages, while you and your partners that we haven't taken care off will go over there and stay until the police take care of you.” ** Nightstalker bent her body down until the criminal leader had a good look at Nightstalker’s face.  **“If you and your buddies try to run, I will hunt every one of you down and turn you into the police with all of your limbs missing.” ** For emphasis, Nightstalker lifted Amaranth’s right arm and extended a stinger.

The criminal leader whimpered and shook his head. Amaranth flinched at Nightstalker's words and felt a little sorry for the guy, but then again he deserved a slight scare for taking hostages. Nightstalker looked up at the DJ booth motioning for the criminal up there to get down. Getting the message, the criminal quickly got downstairs and went to little criminal huddle by the bar.

** _‘Now that they are behaving, I will let you check on the hostages.’ _ ** it retracted the stinger back into Amaranth forearm.

_ ‘Wait, can’t you check on them? I don't know what to do.’ _

** _‘You will do fine. You will do a better job than I would. My experience dealing with hostages is limited, and I don’t trust my grasp of human culture and social expectations.’_ **

Thinking about it, Nightstalker might be right. The people held hostage had enough to deal with as is was without the almost 7-foot tall goo monster unintentionally scaring them to death.  _ “Alright, I will check them. Alright, Amaranth, Let’s give this a go. Hopefully, you won’t scare them too much.”  _ Amaranth turned her attention towards the group of hostages who were gagged and tied up by the wrist and ankles. Amaranth approached slowly to avoid scaring them. Unfortunately, it didn't help calm their nerves if the muffled screaming was something to go by. Amaranth stopped then raised her hand in what she thought was a reassuring matter.  **“Hey, I need you all to calm down. I am here to help. But, I need all of you to trust me. I won’t come closer unless you trust me.” **

The people in the group looked at each other as if they were sharing their thoughts. After a few moments and to Amaranth’s relief, they nodded. 

**“Thank you for trusting me. Now let’s free all of you.” **

** _‘Good job, see you did better than I would have.’_ **

_ ‘Thanks.’  _ thought Amaranth as she walked the rest of the way towards the hostages. She bent down and started to cut the first hostage loose when she suddenly froze. It was Maxine. Amaranth almost didn’t recognize her due to the makeup running down her face from crying. She was wearing a blue blouse with matching jeans and her hair was in a simple ponytail. It was bizarre, seeing who she considered a friend like this. She was so used to seeing her dressed all professional like a nurse. Amaranth immediately used her claws to cut Maxine free, starting with the cloth around her hands and then her ankles. Once free Maxine loosened her gag and pulled the piece of cloth free from her mouth. Before Maxine could speak, Amaranth spoke. 

**“Are you ok? Are you in any pain? Did they hurt you?”** Amaranth surprised herself with how threatening she sounded when she said the last part.

Maxine looked taken back before she gained her bearings. “I…. I am alright. They surprisingly didn’t hurt any of us.” She then looked Amaranth over with a cautious and fearful eye. “Who…. What are you?”

Amaranth thought about it for a moment trying to think up something to say before finally saying.  **“I am just a good Samaritan that came to help, but if you want you can call m- us Nightstalker. Now go help free everyone else.”**

Amaranth and Maxine went to work freeing the rest of the hostages. They were more cooperative since Amaranth proved she wasn’t going to hurt them. Once a few got over their wariness and even thanked Amaranth, they dragged the incapacitated criminals that Amaranth took care of earlier to the bar area. Once they freed the last person the front doors suddenly exploded open. Amaranth turned around and saw what looked like SWAT members coming through the door, and she looked up to see more SWAT members on the balcony. The moment they saw her, a symphony of clicks was heard, and a bunch of red dots appeared on Amaranth’s body. What was she going to do now?

** _‘Prepare to run.’_ **

_ ‘I can’t just run out here, I’d have to go through the police! Criminals are one thing, but I don’t want to hurt the officers. They’re just doing their jobs, we can find another way! WE ARE NOT FORCING OUR WAY THROUGH! PERIOD!’  _ she mentally screamed.

** _‘We won’t have a choice. Besides, they will live, a little banged up, but alive.’_ **

Before Amaranth could respond Maxine along with other rescued hostages stood in front of her, acting as her shield.

“Don’t shoot! She?” Maxine looked at her for confirmation, Amaranth awkwardly nodded in response. “She saved us from those criminals!”

“Yeah, if it wasn’t for Nightstalker, who knows what they would have done to us.”

There was a chorus of agreement throughout the former hostages. The SWAT officers looked towards an older man with graying hair and a mustache wearing a standard officer uniform. It was the officer from earlier who had spoken on the microphone. The man in question raised a hand, and the SWAT officers lowered their guns with hesitation. The man looked at the former hostages, then at Amaranth, then at the criminals grouped at the bar all the while maintaining a stern and critical eye. He then holstered his gun and pointed at a group of officers.

“Alright, you five get the hostages to the paramedics and have them situated, then meet with me to be debriefed! The rest of you double-check the building,” he ordered.

The officers did as they were told and double-checked the building while the five chosen to tend to the hostages reluctantly got near the former hostages while giving Amaranth a wide berth. The group slowly followed the officers outside to get medical treatment. Maxine looked back at Amaranth with a worried expression before going out the door. 

The older man who gave the order approached the teenager, standing in front of her and looking her over until their eyes met, causing Amaranth to feel a little self-conscious. “My name is Jordan Smith, Commissioner of the Fairfields police department. You know, I have been on the force for over 30 years and have seen many crazy things, but a hostage situation being resolved by a 7-foot tall monster tops the metaphorical cake. But these people vouch for you, so thank you... Nightstalker, was it?”

Amaranth nodded,  **“Well, uh,” ** Amaranth covered mouth and coughed.  **“You’re welcome. Um, it's all in a day- eh night’s work. I’ll just be going.” ** Amaranth mentally reprimanded herself for how stupid she sounded right now.

Mr. Smith raised his hand before she could walk away. “Hold up, while I appreciate the help. You acted outside the law and performed acts of vigilantism. So, protocol dictates I arrest.”

** _‘Quick, run, and force your way out.’_ **

_ ‘Wait a moment.’ _

Mr. Smith continued to speak, placing a hand under his chin. “But, those protocols were made with humans in mind, so they technically don’t apply to you. I’m going to talk to my superior about this, and it could take a while. A ‘long while.’ Which might be just enough time for someone to sneak out while everyone else is busy.” he said, turning his back towards her and talking into the chatter on his wrist. 

Amaranth understood what he was saying. She activated Nightstalker’s camouflage and let it take control. It retraced their steps, sneaking around the police until they eventually reached the roof. When they reached the roof, Nightstalker made sure there were no police and then gave power back to Amaranth. She immediately ran to the edge and jumped. She shot out tendrils and swung a few blocks away from the club before finding a secluded roof to land on. Once Amaranth made sure there were no prying eyes, she let her ‘mask’ slither back, revealing her face. 

“Oh, my God! Oh my God!” she shouted as she walked back and forth, rubbing a clawed hand through her symbiote covered hair. “I can’t believe all that happened. The chase, the hostages, criminals, YOU!”

Nightstalker extended itself from Amaranth back and curved its serpentine body around to meet Amaranth’s face.  **“I take it you enjoyed your night?”** it asked, though it sounded more like a statement.

Enjoyed? She loved it, every experience: the rush, and being able to do things that she could never do because of her degrading health. Even with the hostage situation, this was one of the best nights she ever had. The power and the speed! Amaranth looked at her hands covered with Nightstalker forming claws. With Nightstalker’s help, they were able to stop a hostage situation and free the hostages. It was right. Together, while searching for the truth, they could help protect the innocent and take criminals off the streets. This was it, something to call her own, something that wasn’t taken from Daisy. 

“Yeah, I did. We make a pretty good team,” 

Nightstalker chuckled.  **“You’re not a bad host yourself. Though there is one issue we must resolve. My hunger.”**

Amaranth looked up thinking. Of course, she had to find an alternative source for its daily dose of hormones. It preferred to eat brains, so animal brains would work, right? The thought of eating animal brains didn't sit right with Amaranth. Not because she was against it morally speaking, it was just weird. But compromises need to be made. She would try it later. Fortunately, there were some butchers nearby that imported animal brains for the more exotic restaurants. Right now, she should try her chocolate experiment. 

“OK, hold on, I have an idea, we just need to go ho-.” Amaranth eyes widen she looked at her wrist the symbiote skin moving out the way, revealing the chatter on her wrist. Her eyes widen even further, and her stomach dropped when she saw the time. It was 3:00 am, she was out almost the entire night and tutoring started in seven hours! She had to get home. “Nightstalker, I have to go home now before my parents wake up!”

** _‘Alright, let me take control. I can get there within an hour.’_ **

Amaranth gave Nightstalker control without hesitation, and like that it ran to the edge and jumped, extending a tendril one after another swinging every so often and jumping from roof to roof running and swinging. After almost an hour they made it out of the city to the suburbs, traveling through the forest area and avoiding populated areas until they reached the bridge that led home. Then Nightstalker did something that answered the question of how it snuck her out of the house. It jumped into the water and swam towards the island, avoiding setting off the security system on the bridge. It jumped into the water and swam at speeds that weren’t humanly possible, heading straight towards the island. 

It was a strange experience for Amaranth, while underwater she could breathe with no problem like she was on land. It was likely that Nightstalker was filtering the oxygen out of the water like gills on a fish so she could breathe. Also, she could see through the water quite clearly. Amaranth made a note to go swimming later just see how deep she could go. After a couple of minutes of swimming, Nightstalker made a slight left turn going around the island before lunging out of the water and latching onto the rocky cliff behind the island. Nightstalker extended a tendril from Amaranth arm up the cliff and attach it to the stone fence surrounding the island. The tendril retracted back, pulling them up over the wall, allowing them to land in the forest-covered area behind the house. It activated its camouflage and made its way through the woods and after a few minutes, it made it to the side of her home, specifically the side that her room was on. 

It climbed up the wall heading towards her bedroom window, which was open. Once there it climbed inside, and with that gave control back to Amaranth and retracted back into her body. Amaranth examined herself. Surprisingly, despite everything that happened, her nightgown was in the same condition that she remembered it to be. She looked around the room. Everything was the same: her teddy bear collection was in the same spot, her bed was just like it was when she went to bed, and her dresser was the same with the napkin of fruit bars still sitting on top. 

She went over to her dresser and opened a drawer. Inside was a few chocolate bars and chocolate drops. Amaranth took out a chocolate bar and unwrapped it. “Here, try this,” she said, presenting the bar.

Nightstalker manifested itself from her back and ate the chocolate whole. Amaranth could feel its satisfaction.  **“Yes, the chemicals I need are in this food, not as much as in brains, but it will do. You are going to have to eat chocolate quite often.”**

Amaranth shrugged. “I can live with that. Besides, I have another idea for your brain problem.” Amaranth suddenly felt tired and weak as the adrenaline in her system wore off. Her body suddenly felt like it was weighed down by rocks and her mind became groggy.

Nightstalker looked at Amaranth.  **“You’re tired, go to bed.”**

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” she muttered before heading towards her bed. On the way there she passed by her wheelchair. She took a good look at it. For years she was stuck in it, unable to walk or do much of anything. Well until recently. She chuckled imagining getting rid of it, but then another thought came to mind. She was going to have to hide her miraculous recovery from her parents until she found the right time to tell them about it and Nightstalker because she knew she couldn’t hide this forever. This meant she was going to have to play sick and ride the wheelchair a little longer. Well, at least she wouldn’t need it or her medicine anymore. With that thought, she laid onto her bed and let the blissful arms of sleep take her.

**(Somewhere else.)**

She was walking down a corridor, a somber and sad feeling within her chest. She saw rows upon rows of cryo pods down the corridor as she was escorted by four marines. She wore a form-fitted jumpsuit designed explicitly for use with cryosleep. After a few moments, Amaranth stood in front of a pod. The pod’s door opened, allowing Amaranth to enter and lay inside the pod. The door slowly closed sealing with a hiss as anesthetic gas started to fill the pod, numbing Amaranth and causing her to feel drowsy. Then her lungs began to feel like they were being coated from the inside, like a mucus she couldn’t spit-up. Then after some time, it suddenly started to become slightly cool, and then cold. The chill spread through her chest as more of the mucus-filled her lungs, and within moments her eyes closed, too heavy to keep open.

**Year: 05/19/2525**

**Planet: Sargasso**

**Location: the City of Fairfield, Spencer's Estate**

Amaranth suddenly woke up to the sound of her chatter’s alarm clock playing one of her favorite songs to wake her up. She reluctantly opened her eyes and raised her right arm to silence her chatter, checking the time in the process. It was 8:00 am. She lowered her arm and looked out the window. Amaranth was greeted by a sight that she loved to see and hear every morning; the view of Sargasso sea with the sound of gentle sloshing waves and the smell of saltwater with the sun in the middle of the sky. Amaranth then thought about what happened last night and wondered whether or not it was a dream. The fact her body still felt better than ever before and the first words she heard toss that notion aside.

** _‘Good morning, Amaranth, how was your dream?’_ **

Amaranth sat up, surprised.  _ ‘You saw my dream?’ _

** _‘No, I understand that it's considered a breach of privacy to look at every thought of my host, so I avoid prying too much. Though, I did sense a strange amount of activity in your brain. You were dreaming, but it felt like something more.’_ **

Amaranth was quiet for a moment. Nightstalker was right, it likely wasn’t just any dream, but a memory or vision from Daisy, her original.  _ ‘You know how I’m a clone? well sometimes I get these dreams of doing things I was never able to do before and being in strange situations. I believe my dreams are either Daisy’s memories or visions from her.’ _

Nightstalker was silent for a moment before it spoke.  ** _‘I see, that would explain the unusual activity. My kind has something similar when a klyntar reproduce. The parent and the resulting offspring can sense each other when nearby. Same for the offspring of the offspring.’_ **

Amaranth raised a curious eyebrow _ ‘How does your kind reproduce?’ _

** _‘Asexually. And once the offspring is born, it goes off someplace else. My kind doesn't have the same concept of parenthood your kind does. In fact, Klyntars are more or less neutral towards their offspring, or in the worst circumstances hostile. Don’t worry, I won’t reproduce anytime soon,’_ **

Amaranth nodded and got out of her bed. She stood on her feet and took a moment to appreciate the feeling of standing on her own. At that moment, a knock was heard coming from her door, then her mother’s voice came through it.

“Daisy, can I come in?”

Amaranth panicked for a moment then sat in her wheelchair and took a deep breath to calm herself before saying. “Come in,” she said with a slight crack in her voice.

** _“I believe you humans would say at this moment, real smooth.”_ **

_ “Be quiet, and let me talk to her. We can’t have her suspect anything wrong.” _

With that, the door opened, and Daisy’s mother came in. It was strange, usually she on her way to work by now. Then again, considering what happened last night Maxine probably took the day off to recover. So she probably had to wait for the tutor before opening the shop. 

“Good morning, my little flower,” she said with a smile on her face.

“Good morning, Mom,” she responded, though calling her mom felt wrong considering who she was, but it was the only thing she’d ever known her by. “I thought you were at work.” 

“I was supposed to be, but, dear, I have some terrible news. Maxine was involved in a horrible hostage situation last night, so she won’t be able to come in for a day or so.”

Amaranth sat up straighter. “Is she alright? How’s she holding up?” she seemed alright when she saved her last, but that was a few hours ago and a lot could change during that time.

Daisy’s mother placed a soothing hand on Amaranth’s shoulder. “Oooh, don’t worry. She’s doing alright, she just had to be questioned by the police for a couple of days.” she let out a sigh. “Poor thing, no one should go through what she went through. Fortunately, a good Samaritan - or lunatic depending on who you ask - saved them last night.”

“Good samaritan?” said Amaranth, trying to sound as ignorant as possible. 

Daisy’s mother nodded. “Apparently some sort monstrous creature saved them, though I think the rumor is just the result of an overactive imagination and the rumor mill turning. I doubt it was some sort of creature.” she checked her chatter. “Oh, look at the time. Let’s get you ready before breakfast gets cold.”

Amaranth raised an eyebrow. “What about tutoring? Its starts in less than an hour,”

“Due to an unforeseen incident Ms. Reynolds will be a little late today, so I figure since I won’t be at work today, we could eat breakfast together. And we can eat lunch with your father during his lunch break too.” She then walked over to her drawer and opened up the shelf digging through her clothes. “But first let's get you washed up and ready for the day.” she pulled out some jeans and a white blouse showing them to Amaranth. “Would you like to wear these today?”

Amaranth thought about for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, that’d be alright.”

Daisy’s mother nodded, then pulled out some underwear and an undershirt. “Alright, let's go. I already have the bath ready.”

Amaranth turned on her wheelchair and rolled out into the hallway with her mother following behind. She turned left heading towards the bathroom down the hall. it didn’t take long before they reached their destination. The door was opened and inside was a perfectly clean bathroom with a sink, a small bathtub and decorative towels and pictures hanging on the walls. On both sides of the bath were two safety bars and in front was a slip-resistant rug. The tub itself was filled with hot bubbly water that filled the room with the smell of lavender. 

Both Amaranth and Daisy’s mother entered the bathroom. Daisy’s mother proceeded to take off Amaranth’s clothes, placing them, her life alert, and her Chatter to the side. She then, with an ‘oomph,’ lifted Amaranth and settled her into the soothing water. Amaranth couldn't help but let out a content sigh.

** _“This feels quite nice.”_ **

“I know,” said Amaranth leaning her head closing her eyes, letting the soothing lavender soaked through her skin.

“Excuse me?” asked Daisy’s mother.

Amaranth opened her eyes and leaned. “Uhmm, just thinking out loud, Mom.” 

Daisy’s mother nodded and proceeded to take a soap water-filled cloth and wash her back. She then shampooed and lathered her hair while Amaranth washed her front and arms. Washing was one of the many things she absolutely couldn’t do on her own - until recently - due to it requiring her to get up and walk across a slippery surface. She didn’t mind this very much. She enjoyed the bonding time that came with the bathing, whether assisted by he- Daisy’s mother, or father (though reluctantly). 

_ “Bonding time that should have been Daisy’s.”  _ she thought sadly.

“When I lifted, you felt heavier.” Daisy’s mother then chuckled. “We’re probably going to have to cut back on giving you sweets.” she joked as she rinsed the soap out of her hair. 

Amaranth chuckled nervously. The extra weight was probably from Nightstalker now living inside of her.

** _“Sorry that was my fault.”_ **

“You also seemed different today.”

Amaranth froze; fortunately, Daisy’s mother didn’t notice. “What do you mean?”

Daisy’s mother shrugged. “I don’t know, you seemed more lively than usual. You seemed brighter, healthier even.”

“Oh…. Uhm, it must be the medicine I’m on,” suggest Amaranth.

Daisy’s mother was silent for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, you must be right. I guess the doctor was right to put you on a new regiment. Alright, close your eyes and hold still.” Amaranth did as she was told and felt warm water wash over her. After drying her off and taking care of other hygienic needs they went back to Amaranth’s room and Daisy’s mother helped Amaranth get dressed.

“There you go, now you’re ready for the day,” said Daisy's mother as she grabbed a brush ad began to brush Amaranth’s hair. After a few strokes, she was done. “Alright, now let’s go eat breakfast.”

They went back down the hall towards the stairs, Daisy’s mother taking the stairs, while Amaranth drove her wheelchair onto the elevator platform and rode it down. She followed Daisy’s mother through the living room into the kitchen where the aroma of freshly cooked bacon hit her face. Her stomach growled as she felt Nightstalker's hunger.

** _‘HMMM, Meat.’_ **

Amaranth couldn’t help but agree with the feeling. She drove to the empty spot at the table in the middle of the kitchen. After settling in, Amaranth took note of the table. It was covered with a simple blue table cover with two plates of scrambled eggs, grits, and bacon on each side. Mrs. Spencer sat on the side of the table. She took out a remote and turned on the Waypoint TV sitting on a small stand across from the kitchen table. It booted up and took a few moments to connect to a waypoint before finally turning to the local news channel. It was a family rule that the news channel was allowed to be on in the kitchen as it was usually made a good conversation starter. Right now the weatherman was on saying that it was going to be a beautiful sunny day, perfect for going to the beach and shopping.

“Maybe after eating lunch with your father we can go shopping before you continue your tutoring session?” Daisy’s mother suggested.

Amaranth hummed in thought, taking a bite of bacon. She felt that Nightstalker enjoyed the taste, but it said afterward it preferred its meat raw. That wasn’t bad, she like her burgers and steaks rare. After swallowing her bacon, Amaranth spoke. “I would like that. I also would like to check on Maxine if we can.”

Daisy’s mother nodded. “We can, she should still be at the police station.”

Amaranth nodded and turned to look at the television and to see a news anchor in front of the nightclub she and Nightstalker went to last night. There was a multitude of people and police officers checking the building.

“Looks like they’re talking about the hostage situation from last night.” Daisy’s mother turned up the volume.

_ “Hello, this is Fairfields news 6 with your friendly reporter Catherine Phillip reporting here today at the Sargasso Waves, where last night this was a sight of a horrific hostage situation that lasted for hours. That is until what eyewitnesses could only describe as a ‘black and blue inky she monster,’ called Nightstalker, came in and save the day. Now before anyone dismisses this notion, we have security footage from the club’s cameras.” _

The scene changed to low-quality black and white video footage. In the video were the criminals talking in the break room and about to head to the roof when the lights went out. That’s when the camera went into night vision mode and a creature suddenly jumped out of the darkness; it pounced on the criminal with the shotgun while taking a shell to the torso. Unaffected, it kept going. The creature landed on the man, crushing his gun before jabbing him with a stinger and paralyzing him. The one with the rifle fired a few shots, hitting the creature but to no avail before the creature pounced on them and tried to eat him. The man then said something, causing the creature to paralyze him like it did his buddy. Another piece of footage showed her sneaking into the DJ booth and fiddling with the controls until the lights turned off and then showed her takedown of the criminal sent to investigate.

Amaranth could feel Nightstalker pride in how smoothly she performed for - in his words - ‘a beginner.’ And she couldn’t help but feel a little pride in what she did with Nightstalker’s help. Without it, those guys would have torn her apart with no problem. The footage paused on a scene of her crouching. It was blurry and pixelated but clear enough to make out some details, especially the pupiless serrated eyes and the mouth that went too far back forming a disturbing smile filled with teeth. Damn, she was scary. The paused video then shrunk into the corner of the screen, revealing the reporter from earlier.

_ “Police will release an official statement later today, but who or whatever she is, I for one am glad for her help. Now back to you, Joh-” _

Daisy’s mother lowered the volume to a muffle. “Can you believe it? So a lunatic in a costume decided to play the superhero, and people actually think she’s some sort of ink creature.”

** _‘Well that’s ironic, she is technically calling you a lunatic.’_ **

Amaranth flinched at Nightstalker’s remark. It was right. Daisy’s mother unknowingly called her a lunatic. “I don’t know, Mom, Nightstalker seemed pretty cool, and she did save the hostages’ lives, including Maxine’s. I mean for a monster, she’s not that bad. In fact, I think any criminals would think twice before doing anything.”

Daisy’s mother took a sip of her coffee. “Daisy, you can’t believe everything you see on TV. I highly doubt that this ‘Nightstalker’ is a monster. She’s probably just some woman who took the law into her own hands. Now, I am not saying she did a bad thing, but this was a matter for highly trained police, not a vigilante - no matter how good he or she is.”

Amaranth nodded choosing not to argue, and for the rest of the time she and Daisy’s mother ate and talked about other subjects such as school grades, the latest shopping trend, and the doctor appointment that was scheduled for later that week. That part worried Amaranth as she got bloodwork done every appointment to see if her condition had gotten any worse and if a change in medication would be necessary. The problem was that now she had a symbiote in her system flowing through her blood. 

** _“Don’t worry, I know how to hide, your doctor won’t suspect a thing.”_ **

_ “OK, I hope your right.” _

Daisy’s Mother lifted her right wrist and checked her chatter. “Excuse me, sweetie, but I have to get a couple of things from upstairs. I will be right back.”

“Alright, Mom,” said Amaranth before eating the last bit of eggs of her plate.

Daisy’s mother smiled before handing her the remote. “Since you’re by yourself, I’ll let you bend the family rule and change the channel to anything you like,” she said, before getting up from the table going into the living room, leaving Amaranth and Nightstalker by themselves.

** _“She seems nice, she clearly loves you,”_ **

_ “No, she loves Daisy. Not an imposter who she will probably reject if she found out the truth.”  _

** _“Don’t say that. She doesn’t seem the type to throw you out just because of your origins. After being with multiple hosts, you become a pretty good judge of character.”_ **

_ “Let’s just watch some TV,”  _ she said. She didn’t want to discuss any more of the matter. 

** _‘OK, there’s something we need to talk about anyway.’_ **

Amaranth cocked an eyebrow.  _ ‘Is there a problem? Is it about your hunger?’ _

** _‘No, it is not about that. It is about your level of fitness.’_ **

_ ‘My level of fitness?’ _

** _‘Yes, you see my kind takes what the host has and enhances it. So the stronger the host without a Klyntar-’_ **

_ ‘The stronger the host is with one. So, you are saying I should try to increase my fitness level and in turn increase my performance when I become Nightstalker?’  _

** _‘Correct, it would increase your chances if you ever run into stronger enemies. And as a bonus, your health would benefit from it. Listen, I’m looking out for you, if we are going to fight criminals we are going to make enemies, so we mustn’t become complacent.’_ **

Amaranth thought about and concluded Nightstalker was right. She should full advantage of her newfound health and abilities, she can’t waste this new lease on life. ‘Alright, but for now let’s relax.’

** _‘Alright, but we will start as soon as possible.’_ **

_ ‘OK,’  _ Amaranth picked up the remote and tried to turn the channel, but nothing happened. “The batteries must be dead.” Then a thought came to her. She could walk now, and Daisy’s Mom was away. So she could just simply walk over change the channel real quick and sit back down before Daisy’s Mom came back. Amaranth got up from her wheelchair.

** _“I don’t think you should be doing this.”_ **

_ “Don’t worry, It will be quick, and she won't suspect a thing.”  _ Amaranth proceeded to the TV and pressed a button, changing the channel and searching for something good to watch. After a few moments of browsing channels and searching through a streaming site, she finally found something good to watch: a movie about a superhero wearing a bat outfit. 

** _“Um, Amaranth, you might want to look behind you,” _ ** said Nightstalker with a worried voice.

Amaranth looked behind her, wondering why Nightstalker was worried. She froze on the spot. Behind her was Daisy’s mother; mouth agape as she pointed a shaky finger at her. Her face was a mixture of disbelief and... happiness?

“You….. you're standing,” she said sluggishly, her voice cracking. “You’re standing without shaking.”

And for the first time, Amaranth cursed in front of Daisy’s mother. “Shit,”

** _“Told you so,” _ ** added Nightstalker.


	3. Ch 2: Doctor visit

_ **(A/N: Chapter 2 edited and beta read by rolly_polly and ** _ ** _Lavinioskij on Fiveer.)_ **

**Chapter 2: Doctor visit**

**Year: 05/19/2525**

**Planet: Sargasso**

**Location: Life Foundation Research facility a few miles from Fairfields**

Ronald Reece took a swig from his shot of bourbon from behind his desk, then leaned forward with his face in his hands. One of the symbiotes from last night’s shipment had escaped due to ‘faulty equipment’. Worst of all, someone had decided to become its host and played the part of a superhero! On top of that, Ronald had to report all of what had happened to Mr. Drake. He shivered from head to toe.

“Sentry, connect me to Mr. Drake,” commanded Ronald, a cold sweat forming on his brow.

“Yes, Director, setting encryptions and direct link now.” answered a digitized voice.

The projector lit up, and Mr.Drake stood in the middle of the office with a smile that set Ronald on edge. He had seen that type of smile before, and it usually came before an uncomfortable talk.

_“Director, I have been expecting you.”_

Ronald took an audible gulp. “You… you have?”

Carlton Drake nodded. _“Yes, you see, I had an interesting news report forwarded to me.”_At that moment, a holographic screen appeared next to Drake playing a news clip from the Sargasso's local news. The news clip was showing the symbiote’s host rescuing some hostages. Drake let it play for a few minutes before he paused the clip and looked at Ronald. _“Mind explaining what we just saw?”_

Ronald's hands shook violently, knocking the shot glass off his desk. “There…. There was an incident last night,” Ronald paused for a moment taking a deep breath. “One of the symbiotes escaped,” Carlton Drake's smile disappeared as he narrowed his eyes. Ronald instantly got up, tipping his chair over. “Mr. Drake, you have to understand. There were only so many precautions we could take while maintaining subtlety. If we took any more precautions, it would have drawn suspicion! But don’t worry, I will send a retrieval team supported by Juri-”

Carlton raised a hand, and Ronald instantly closed his mouth. _“Director, don’t worry, I am not mad. In fact, I view this as an opportunity.”_

Ronald raised an eyebrow. “Opportunity, Mr. Drake?”

Carlton nodded, then pointed at the video screen. _“What I see here is a chance to study how well symbiosis can be achieved in a less-” _Carlton twisted his wrist. _ “-restrictive environment. Also, I find the host’s and symbiote’s actions interesting.” _He adjusted the cuff on his suit. _“Besides, we have more important things to worry about. Keep an eye on them, and figure out who the host is for eventual retrieval. I leave the time of retrieval up to you.”_ he ordered.

Ronald nodded his head. “Ye-Yes, sir, Anything else?”

_“Yes, when retrieval happens, do tell Juri to try to not make a mess,”_ he said before the hologram disappeared.

Ronald took a napkin out of his coat and wiped his forehead. “Sentry, send orders out to science and retrieval teams. I want them to keep reports on this “Nightstalker” and be ready for retrieval on my signal. And send word to our agents to investigate who the host is.”

“Orders sent.”

Ronald nodded before his knees trembled, crumbling under his weight. With shaky fingers, he grabbed the bottle of bourbon and took a long swig of the burning liquid. It was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted.

**Year: 05/19/2525**

**Planet: Sargasso**

**Location: City of Fairfield, Spencer's Estate**

Amaranth stood up, completely frozen, doing nothing but quietly breathing as she stared at Daisy’s mother, who strolled towards her. Amaranth thought of faking a collapse, but she knew it would be fruitless as her mother had seen her doing it way too many times to be fooled by that act. She broke out of her stupor and moved towards Daisy’s mother. “Mom-” Amaranth stopped in her tracks as she saw her face morph into disbelief and joy. She stepped forward, her shaking legs threatening to give out. After a few moments, Daisy’s mother finally reached for her and bent down to her eye level.

“You’re standing,” she croaked, disbelief and happiness evident in her voice. “You’re walking… The doctors said… You couldn’t… They said…” Tears streamed down her face as she continued to speak. “That you will never stand or even walk without a cane. Yet, here you are standing strong, no shaking or signs of you falling. My baby standing here strong and without support-” she then pulled Amaranth in for a hug, her grip tightening by the second. “I prayed every day for your recovery or for something to happen. I watched you becoming sicker and sicker for so long… I feared that I would lose my only child.” She whispered the last part. Daisy’s mother released Amaranth from the crushing hug, staring her in the eyes. “How did this happen?”

Amaranth paused; she had to think of something. What reasoning could she think of to explain her sudden recovery? _‘Nightstalker, a little help!’_

_ **‘I don’t know! I told you it wasn’t a good idea.’** _

_‘Wait, I got it!’ _

Daisy’s mother stared at her worriedly. “Daisy? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine… I just had the urge to stand up, and I did. When I saw I was standing without my legs hurting, I walked to the TV. I… I guess it's a miracle.” she squeaked the last part out. She wasn’t exactly lying. and it was technically correct, the miracle came in the form of a blob of slime.

Daisy’s mother brought Amaranth in for another crushing hug. “You’re right, this is a miracle!” She cried, letting Amaranth go before standing up and wiping the tears from her eyes. “Stay here, I’m going to call your father and tell him the news.” without another word, she ran out of the kitchen with a joyous beat to her steps.

“She is so happy,” Amaranth just stood there and stared at the entryway where Daisy’s mother had disappeared. She knew that her worsening condition had affected Daisy’s parents profoundly and that they would be ecstatic by her recovery. But to actually see Daisy’s mother's reaction made her heart clench painfully. It was a reminder of how much love they had for Daisy and what she had stolen from her.

_ **‘Amaranth, are you okay,’** _

Amaranth felt something slide down her cheeks; she wiped her cheeks and saw tears. “No, Nightstalker, I’m not okay. Far from it,” she said quietly.

_ **‘Amaranth, I know you are going through a myriad of emotions, but this will bring attention to us. We must be on guard just in case we get the unwanted kind.’** _

Amaranth eyes widened. It was right, she had screwed up. And now Daisy’s family was very likely in danger. She couldn’t allow any harm to come to them; they had suffered enough. Amaranth clenched her fists. _‘Nightstalker, we are going to train as soon as we get the chance.’_

Nightstalker chuckled. _**‘I already have a training plan in place and ready to go.’**_

_‘Good.And Nightstalker...’_

_ **‘Yes?’** _

_‘Don’t go easy on me,’_

Amaranth felt Nightstalker’s amusement _**‘Don’t worry, I never planned to,’**_

Daisy’s mom called Daisy’s father, and to say he was ecstatic would be an understatement. At first he didn’t believe her, and it took Mrs. Spencer sending a video of Amaranth standing and moving for him to be convinced. The minute he saw the footage he hung up the phone, hurrying home. In less than an hour, the sound of a car screeching to a halt was heard coming from outside the house. The front door flew open and Jon Spencer came through, sweating and out of breath. He entered the living room, and the moment he laid eyes on a standing Amaranth he stopped, standing still for a few moments with his mouth agape. He rushed towards Amaranth, picked her up from under her armpits, and twirled her around like he used to when she was six.

“I can’t believe you're standing! Standing and looking so healthy!” he cried, tears flowing down his cheeks.

“Dad, can you put me down? I think I’m going to be sick.” Amaranth felt her breakfast on the verge of making a fast track towards her throat.

Daisy’s father put Amaranth down with a sheepish look on his face. “I’m sorry, my little flower, but look at you. You’re standing and walking!” He calmed down and continued to speak. “Get ready, we are going to the doctor’s office.”

Amaranth choked. “Doctor’s office?”

Mrs. Spencer stepped forward. “Jon, our daughter, after being sick for so long, is standing strong and healthy! Can’t we just accept this miracle?”

Mr. Spencer rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Honey, I understand, I really do, but we have to be realistic. Our daughter just did something that the doctors said would be impossible,” Daisy’s father went to Amy, “I just want to make sure that our daughter is alright.”

Amy wiped the tears from her face and nodded. “Ok, I just don’t want this to be a false hope.” she looked down and more tears streamed down her face and hit the floor.

Jon used his index finger to lift Amy’s face from under her chin. “I know, but this feels too good to be true. We need to be sure.”

Amy forced a smiled and turned her attention towards Amaranth. “Daisy, Sweetie, let's go.”

“Yes, Mom,” Amaranth answered as she followed her parents to the car. Along the way, she tried her best to calm her rapidly beating heart.

It had been almost thirty minutes since they had left the house, and for the entire car ride it was dead silent. Nobody daring speak, for all parties were preoccupied with their own thoughts. Daisy’s father rhythmically tapped his index finger on the steering wheel as Daisy’s mother silently prayed. Amaranth rubbed her hands together, watching the passing buildings and vehicles.

_ **‘You’re going to rub your hands raw if you keep doing that.’** _

Amaranth’s hand rubbing intensified. _“How can you be so calm!?! The doctors could find out about you if they look hard enough. And if they find out about your captors, and possibly the people who took Daisy, it will put us all in danger! They will be really interested in the fact that a clone destined to die is as healthy as a-”_

_ **‘THAT’S IT!’** _

Suddenly, Amaranth's hands stopped rubbing, and her arms lowered to her side, unable to move any further. _‘Nightstalker, what are you doing! What if they see you!?’_

_**‘I am trying to talk some sense into you, and calm you down. Look, I know you’re scared, but turning yourself into a nervous wreck won’t do you any good. I know how to hide, so the doctors won’t find anything. And I won’t let anything happen to you or your family. I made a promise and I intend to keep it.’ **_it said, its voice affectionate but stern.

_‘You’re right, I’m sorry. It’s just hard to remain calm. I screwed up, and now I might have inadvertently put everyone in danger.’_

_ **‘Hold on, let me try something.’** _

Amaranth regained control of her arms and she flexed her finger and bent her elbows as the feeling of control came back. Suddenly her body felt different. Her heart rate slowed down considerably, her muscles relaxed, and her breathing normalized. _‘Nightstalker, What did you do?’ _she asked as the calming sensation spread throughout the rest of her body.

_ **‘I can manipulate the chemical functions in my hosts. Right now, I am using this ability to calm you down.’** _

Amaranth raised an eyebrow._ ‘Wait, so you can just play around with my hormones?’_

_ **‘Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing, and this is the only time I will do something like this without your permission.’** _

Amaranth laid her head back and let out a deep breath. _‘No need to be so defensives. I trust you.’ _Amaranth closed her eyes, slowly drifting into sleep. _‘Nightstalker,’_

_ **‘Yes,’** _

_‘Thanks,’_

Nightstalker chuckled in response. **‘No problem, now try to get some rest. It will make you feel better.’**

**(Sometime later… )**

Amaranth suddenly felt the car stop. Opening her eyes and looking out the window, she saw that they had arrived at the entrance of the Fairfields Emergency Hospital. It was an eight-story white building designed by a famous artist, and its rounded design and lack of edges helped to put patients at ease. To assist in this, it was routinely cleaned from roof to base of any grime and repainted to maintain its clean appearance. Due to her condition, she needed to take a series of tests- including blood work and MRI scans- every few months that could have only be done here.

“Come on, Dr. Rashid is waiting.” Jon, along with Amy, quickly hopped out of the car. Jon went around to Amaranth’s side and opened the side door. Amaranth stepped out, and she was greeted by a male doctor followed by a couple of nurses. Dr. Rashid, the family doctor, was a tall, well-built man with a dark complexion and a shiny bald head. He was wearing grayish-blue scrubs under a white doctor's coat. He rushed over to the car with a nurse in tow, pushing a wheelchair.

Rashid stopped in front of them and blinked a couple of times. “I… I can’t believe it. When you told me that your daughter was… This shouldn’t be possible.” he stepped to the side, clearing the way for nurse and the bane of Amaranth's existence at the moment. “Come, we must perform some tests; get her in the wheelchair-”

“No.”

Dr. Rashid blinked, staring at Amaranth. “Excuse me, I am sorry, but its hospital-”

“I said NO! I spent eight years in a wheelchair, and for the first time in years I can walk and move without assistance. So, excuse me, but I will not be put back into a damn wheelchair!”

“DAISY!” Amy gasped. “Language!”

Amaranth suddenly felt sheepish and looked down in embarrassment. She had let her temper get the best of her, but she had meant what she said. She was never getting back into a damn wheelchair. Never! “Sorry,” she mumbled.

Jon let out a hearty laugh that came from deep within his chest. “Considering the situation she was in before, I understand her sentiment.” he gave Amy a knowing look. “You know, her temper flash there reminded me of you, back when we were younger. Back when you were going through that pha-”

“We’ve been holding up the doctor long enough, let's go see if our daughter is alright.” Amy said a little too quickly while she gave Jon a glare that screamed ‘shut up or die.’

Jon immediately shut up with a smirk and a bead of sweat sliding down his face.

Rashid nodded towards Amaranth. “Yes, I am sorry Daisy. I should have taken your feelings into account.” he nodded towards the nurse, who, in turn, took the wheelchair back into the hospital. “Now, we must hurry. We need to get to the bottom of your daughter's miraculous recovery. It should have been downright impossible!” he repeated himself.

Without further delay, the Spencer family followed Rashid into the hospital. They passed through the automatic doors that lead to the lobby. After checking in with the security at the receptionist's desk, they walked down the hall, their footsteps mixing with the others. Amaranth could hear doctors talking to little kids bored out of their minds and something being announced over the speakers.

They also passed by patients, including the really sick ones.

Amaranth kept her head down, trying not to look as they passed by rooms. She didn’t want to look, but a few times she would subconsciously lift her head up. The different patients were attached to some sort of life support. Rebreathers and the sound of heart monitors and other medical machines reminded her of the time before she had met Nightstalker. What would her life be if she had never met it… she could’ve just as easily been the one in one of those hospital beds. They kept walking until they reached an elevator which they stepped inside. Rashid pressed the 3rd-floor button. Amaranth felt the elevator go up and, after a few seconds, stop with a ‘ding.’ The group stepped off the elevator and followed the doctor to the receptionist's desk by the double doors with a sign that read ‘Diagnostic and Intervention imaging Center.’

Amaranth looked at the door; she had been here many times throughout the years. She remembered being so scared of getting her first MRI. Still, Daisy’s father and mother had stood by her throughout the entire thing, giving her emotional support. Amaranth smiled warmly at the memory but then frowned, remembering who she had stolen that from.

She felt Nightstalker trying to comfort her, and gave a small smile.

Amy and Jon went to the desk and were given a stack of paperwork to fill out. Amy stopped writing and turned towards Amaranth. “Daisy, sweetie, this may take a while; go sit in the waiting area for a few minutes.”

“Okay, Mom,” she said before heading towards the waiting area. It was a simple setup, some chairs surrounding a table with magazines of various topics stacked on top. There was a holo-tv in the corner showing a recruitment ad for the UNSC Marine Corps that switched to the news talking about the cancellation of all travel to Harvest and then to some insurrectionist movement on some far off colony.

Amaranth sat down, and as she tried to get herself comfortable, she looked through the magazines. The majority of them didn’t catch her interest, mostly because they were extraordinarily outdated or solely not for her demographic. It wasn’t until Nightstalker pointed to a magazine that her interest piqued.

_ **‘Amaranth, to your right; I think we should read that one.’** _

Amaranth looked where she had been pointed to and saw the magazine in question. It was a fitness magazine and on the cover there were two people. A man who looked as tall as Daisy’s dad, but more ripped, and a woman who was just as muscular were doing poses and- according to the magazine’s cover- were former elite CrossFit champions. The woman had bigger muscles than the average woman, her physique reminding Amaranth of Daisy. Amaranth didn’t know much about fitness, but she knew that it took years of hard work and intense training to get to that point. And they were adults, so the question was what kind of hell did they put her through to get to that point?

_ **‘Amaranth, focus, we need to strengthen ourselves first, then we can move to bigger things.’** _

Nightstalker was right, she needed to focus. She opened the magazine and began reading, taking mental notes of different exercise routines, diets, supplements (Nightstalker insisted she wouldn’t need those), and tidbits that they both found useful. She kept reading until she heard Daisy’s dad call her.

“Daisy, the doctor’s ready- What are you reading?”

Amaranth lifted her head, closing the magazine. Her dad was just looking at her perplexed. “Just a fitness magazine. I was given a new lease on life, and I don’t want to waste this chance. I don’t want to be weak ever again.”

Daisy’s father stared at her, his eyes full of sadness and understanding. “I understand, and I’m proud that you’re willing to improve yourself.” A smile spread across his lips. “If everything turns out great, we can go to the gym together. Some good ole father-daughter time.” he let out a hearty laugh. “We just have to convince your mother; she worries more than me. Now come on, the doctor’s ready. Oh, here, put this on.” he handed her a plastic wristband.

Amaranth got up from her chair and placed the magazine back. She took the wristband- it contained her primary information such as her name, birthdate (or what they thought her birthday was), etc- and put it on. She followed Jon to the receptionist's desk, where the others were waiting. The double doors automatically opened and the group went in. After some walking they went into an unoccupied room that Amaranth had visited many times throughout the years. It was the standard doctor’s office with the usual items. The only thing different from the standard office was that in front of the examination table was a curtain for privacy when she changed.

Dr. Rashid, who was now carrying a datapad, closed the door behind him. “Now, Daisy, please take a seat on the table.”

Amaranth did as she was told and sat onto the table with Daisy’s parents standing by her. Dr. Rashid pulled up a chair and sat down, shaking his head as he looked at the clipboard.

“Before I go on through the usual routine-” he looked at the family with dead seriousness. “Mr. and Mrs. Spencer, you two understand that your daughter’s recovery should not be possible in any shape or form!” he let out a tired comment, and his face became grim. “Mr. and Mrs. Spencer forgive my bluntness, but your daughter was… At the rate her health was deteriorating-” Rashid let out a hard sigh. “Your daughter would have been lucky if she had made it to the end of the year- middle of next year if we had upped the drug dose, but that wouldn’t have been much better. Especially with the side effects.”

The room was quiet. Every party knew that Amaranth had been doomed to die an early death no matter what they had done. Amaranth imagined a scenario where she had never met Nightstalker, a future where she was stuck in a hospital bed dying and barely lucid thanks to the anti-pain drugs pumped into her system. Daisy’s parents standing beside her, wailing and crying as they watched who they thought was their daughter dying in front of them. Amy spoke up, breaking Amaranth out of her grim thoughts.

“It's a miracle, Doctor, there is no other way to put it. I’m just glad my baby girl is healthy.”

“I understand you want this to be true, Mrs. Spencer, but it's better to be safe than sorry.” he lifted up his datapad. “On a personal note, I’m not a religious man, but if your daughter really is this healthy, then I wouldn’t hesitate to call this a miracle either. Now, before we can do the MRI, I have to ask some questions.”

For the next few minutes, Dr. Rashid posed the standard questions about Amaranth’s medical history, such as if she had had any surgeries in the past, any with metal implants, changes in diet, etc. She was then weighed, had her temperature taken, and had her heart rate and blood pressure checked. During that time Amaranth- despite Nightstalker’s reassurance- was nervous, fearing that they would find something that would hint at its existence. Rashid entered all of the information into his datapad as she answered.

“Well- besides your miraculous surge in vitality- you’re by all accounts healthy as a horse, which is a lot better than the results from your last check-up. Though you seemed to have gained some weight. Still have that huge sweet tooth, eh, Daisy.” he joked.

Amaranth let out a tense laugh. “Yeah, I have been eating a lot of chocolate as of late,” she said with a crooked smile.

Rashid shrugged and typed something in his datapad. In that moment, the door opened and a male nurse came in with a tray in his hands. A syringe wrapped in plastic was laying on it, together with an alcohol bottle, towels, a tourniquet, a vial, a needle wrapped in plastic, and other items. Rashid put the tablet to the side and got up to the sink and washed his hands. “Alright, Daisy, now I am going to draw some blood to send to the lab for tests. You know the usual, so hold out your arm.”

Amaranth hesitated, what if instead of drawing red blood they ended up drawing a piece of Nightstalker by accident? Amaranth imagined the look of surprise when instead of blood, the syringe would fill up with a mixture of blood, and a blue and black tar substance.

_ **‘Don’t worry, let them take some blood.’** _

Amaranth let out a deep breath and stuck out her left arm, watching Rashid’s every movement like a hawk. Rashid dried his hands, and put on some gloves. He sat in front of Amaranth and proceeded to prepare her for blood withdrawal wrapping a tourniquet around her arm. The doctor unwrapped and assembled the needle.

“Alright, just clenched your fist and hold still. You will feel a little pinch.”

Amaranth clenched her fist and felt the needle pierce her skin. Her heart beating a mile a minute. Dr. Rashid slowly drew blood, and to Amaranth’s relief, it was red. After a few seconds, he was done. He immediately released the tourniquet and grabbed a small piece of gauze from the tray. Rashid slowly removed the needle from her arm while at the same time covering the hole with the gauze, pressing down. He then removed the needle from the syringe and transferred the blood into the vial using a transfer device.

Rashid turned his attention to the nurse.“Make sure to dispose of the needle and to take the blood sample to the lab.”

_ **‘See, that wasn’t so bad.’** _

Amaranth chuckled. _‘Alright, you were right. Happy? Maybe I was over exaggerating.’_

The nurse gave a ‘Yes, Doctor.’ and put the used items into an orange container with a biohazard symbol, then placed the vial into a bag with the same symbol before walking out of the room. Rashid turned his attention back to the Spencers.

“Now, Mr. and Mrs. Spencer, one of our MRI technologists, Dr. Adjei, will be taking care of your daughter’s MRI today,” he got up and went to a drawer in the corner of the room. He opened a drawer and pulled out a hospital gown, slip-resistant socks, and a plastic bag. “Daisy, you will need to put these on and make sure there is no metal on yourself.”

“Alright,” answered Amaranth.

“Thank you, Doctor,” said Jon.

Rashid smiled warmly. “You’re welcome. Alright, now, I have some paperwork to take care of. I will join you shortly.” he went to the door, but before going out, he turned back towards the Spencers. “Mr. and Mrs. Spencer, I hope that everything turns out alright,” he said before leaving.

Amy looked at Amaranth. “Alright, sweetie, let's get you changed.” she then turned towards her husband. “Jon, give us girls some privacy.”

“Um, Mom, I… want to dress by myself, please,” added Amaranth.

“You sure, sweetie?”

Jon placed a comforting hand on Amy’s shoulder. “Now, Amy, let Daisy enjoy her newfound independence.”

Amy nodded, and reluctantly closed the curtain around the examination table. Amaranth quickly took off her clothes and changed into the hospital gown and socks provided. She placed her clothes and belongings into the bag and opened the curtains. At that moment, a knock then a voice came from the door.

“May I come in?” asked the voice.

After getting the okay, a dark-skinned doctor wearing slacks and a lab coat with black shoes and a thick mustache came into the office. “Hello, I am Dr. Adjei.” he shook both Amy’s and Jon’s hands. “Nice to meet you. I will be performing your daughter’s MRI scan today.” he opened the door. “Now, if you follow me, we can get started.”

They followed Dr. Adjei until they arrived at a set of double doors with a sign that read ‘MRI.’ Dr. Adjei opened the doors and urged them to come in. Inside was a small room with lockers, a metal detector, and another set of doors on the other end. “Before we go to the MRI room, I must make sure all metal is removed off your person.” he walked over to a locker and opened it, taking out a plastic bin. “Please place all metal items in the bin then walk through the detector.”

The Spencers did as they were told, and walked through the detector one by one; first Jon, the then Amy, and lastly Amaranth. Dr. Adeji then pulled out a detector wand and waved it across the three. After confirming that there was no metal on any of them, he gestured towards the lockers while presenting a keycard. “Please, place all valuables in this locker. Once the scan is done, we will return them back to you.”

Jon took the key card, and the family did as instructed placing their belongings in the locker and locking it. They then followed Dr. Adeji through the door. Inside was some sort of control station with holographic screens and keyboards for different data machines lining the room’s walls. Behind the monitors were glass windows, and standing in front was a woman in gray scrubs. Facing her was a holographic 3d image of a snake wrapped around a staff member, likely the hospital's AI. On the other side of the glass was a gray and tan tubular machine with a massive ring around it. Rashid pointed at the device. “We will start with the MRI. Now, Amaranth, please follow me.” he went to a door that lead to the MRI room. “Amaranth, Hospital policy is that one parent may accompany a child. Would you like one of your parents to accompany you?”

Amaranth shook her head. “No, sir, I will be alright.”

“You sure, my little flower? I understand this isn’t your first MRI, but considering the circumstances, maybe one of us should come with you,” said Jon worriedly.

“Don’t worry, Dad, I’ll be alright. It just an MRI, nothing will happen. I’m a big girl.” Amaranth said with a smile.

Jon smiled then let out a chuckle. “No matter how much you grow, you will always be my little girl,” he said.

Amaranth's smile fell just a little. She wasn’t his little girl, his little girl was long gone, replaced by a fake.

_ **‘Come on, Amaranth, the doctor is waiting.’** _

Amaranth followed Dr. Adeji into the MRI room. It was spacious and very spartan, with the MRI machine in the middle and nothing else. Amaranth laid onto the bed in front of the MRI machine. With the hum of the machinery, the bed slowly went inside the tube-shaped machine.

_“Alright, Amaranth, just relax and try to stay still. This will be over before you know it. In fact, this is a new model and scans faster than before.”_ assured Dr. Adeji through a speaker system. _“Cadecus, start scanning.”_

_“Scan will start shortly,” _said a digitized male voice.

Amaranth cocked an eyebrow. “Really? What makes this model so different?”

_“Well, it uses sound waves along-”_

_‘Sound!’_

_ **‘Sound!’** _

[At that moment, Amaranth let out a blood-curdling scream her body seizing and convulsing as pain surge throughout her body. She could feel it; she could feel Nightstalker’s agony! It was just like- No, worse than at the nightclub. It was like a migraine spread across her body times ten. “Turn it off! Let me out! Turn it off!” she screamed and begged as tears ran down her face, her arms and legs flailing wildly.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwqVC6EHrvc) She could hear yelling coming from outside the machine, and immediately, the pain stopped, and strong hands yanked her out of the machine. Amaranth was panting and covered in a cold sweat as she was lifted up and met with the sight of a worried Dr. Adeji and Jon, with Amy crying behind him.

Amy pushed- with a surprising show of strength- Adejia and Jon to the side.She hugged Amaranth sobbing on her shoulder. “Oh, my baby!” she took her head off Amaranth’s shoulder and studied her over. “Are you okay!? You were screaming like the devil himself had entered your body.”

Jon looked at Dr. Adeji, breathing hard. “Doctor, What the hell happened?” he demanded, straightening himself up entering the Doctor’s personal space.

Dr. Adeji lifted his hands. “I’m sorry, Mr. Spencer, but this has never happened before! Believe me, I did this with thousands of patients, and not one of them had this reaction to the MRI. The only explanation is that she had a panic attack.”

“Yeah, that’s it! I had a panic attack!” said Amaranth taking the opportunity to avoid uncomfortable questions. She wiped the tears off her face.

Jon and Amy looked at Amaranth like she grew a second head. “Daisy, are you sure you’re okay? That didn’t sound like a panic attack to me. It sounded like-” Amy choked on her words. “You were in pain.”

“Mom,” Amaranth started slowly feeling a lump in her throat, touched at how much she cared. “I’m alright, really. It’s just a panic attack.”

“Are you sure?” asked Jon.

Amaranth nodded her head. “Yes, I am.” she reaffirmed.

Jon and Amy didn’t seem convinced, but they thankfully let it go. “Alright, Daisy, if you say so,” said Jon.

Dr. Adeji coughed into his hand. “I believe that she had enough tests for today. If you three could follow me, I need you two to fill out some paperwork. Come with me.”

“Um, Mom, Dad, can I go for a walk? I just… want to clear my head.”

Amy and Jon talked with each other and after getting confirmation from Dr. Adeji that Amaranth was physically alright; she was given the okay and reminded to keep her chatter on her. Adeji escorted her to the locker and got her things, then she was taken to the bathroom next door. After changing back into her clothes, she went back to the elevator and headed down. During the elevator trip down, now that they were alone, Nightstalker and Amaranth talked.

“Well, that was painful,” she said, rubbing her head.

Nightstalker scoffed. _**‘Humph, you’re telling me. Next time, we must double-check to see if any device you enter uses sound. Don’t want a repeat.’**_

Amaranth chuckled. “Agreed.”

At that moment, the elevator bell dinged, and a digitized female voice said. “1st floor. Please, watch your step.” The conjoined two got off the elevator. They walked down the hall, accompanied by the sound of beeping medical equipment, and the smell of sanitized air. Amaranth walked quickly, trying to avoid staring into the rooms of the sick patients, avoiding bumping into nurses, doctors, other patients, and medical equipment. She kept walking, trying her best to get out of the area when she suddenly stopped. She saw a woman about Amy’s age with brown hair wearing sandals and a sundress being rushed out of the room following a doctor down the hall. She looked like she was on the verge of crying.

Curiosity got the best of Amaranth, and despite Nightstalker's, discouragement, she looked into the room. It was a standard room by the numbers., a documentary about the ODSTs called ‘Feet first into hell,’ playing on the TV. But, what disturbed her was the person in the bed. A sickly pale- though still darker than her- boy about her age connected to various different machinery. The scenery sent a chill down Amaranth’s spine. The boy noticed her and struggled to lift up his head slightly. He spoke to her, breaking her out of her trance.

“Hello... Are … You lost? If… you… want … you can come… In. I… don’t mind visitors.” he said, and every breath and word sounded like a struggle.

She didn't know why, but Amaranth complied and went to the side of the boy and got a good look at him. She wished she hadn’t. The boy was pitiable: he had chestnut brown hair that was probably at one point vibrant and full, but now thin and lanky, and his brown eyes were dim and barely holding on to life. His face was all boney like his body couldn’t retain any weight. He wore a breathing mask on his face that made every breath audible as his every breath was accompanied by the sound of the air pump. Wires were attached to his chest and a device on his right index finger connected to a heart monitor. There was something familiar about him like she knew him.

The boy smiled weakly. “Thank... You, I… don’t get many… Visitors… my age…” he took a ragged breath before continuing. “Not… since… My… condition... got worse. Oh, I’m… sorry. My name… Is… Joseph.”

Joseph, Amaranth knew she heard that name before. “My name... My name is Daisy,” she said.

Joseph smiled, but it wasn’t a completely delighted one. There was some sadness behind it. He was trying to put on a strong front. “Nice… to… meet you... Daisy.” He tilted his head slightly. “Daisy… you know you… seem familiar … and I believe I... heard that name… before. Have… We… met?”

“No, I don’t think so,” she answered.

Joseph laid his back and looked at the ceiling as if contemplating something as he took a few labored breaths. “You… know, when…. I… was… little… I wanted… to be an ODST… like my uncle. Before... My… condition manifested… itself…”

Amaranth stared at Joseph, perplexed. “Why are you telling me this? A total stranger.”

Joseph did the closest thing he could to a shrug. “I… don’t… know. I… just… feel… like… I… could… Trust… And…. talk… to…You.” he answered.

_ **‘Amaranth, touch his hand.’** _

_‘What, why?’_

_ **‘Touch his hand. I want to see something.’** _

“Can I see your hand for a second?” asked Amaranth.

Joseph looked at her for a moment, then nodded. Amaranth held his left hand. It felt so light and fragile like it was made of glass and could break with the slightest touch. Amaranth felt Nightstalker extend a tiny tendril out of her palms just small enough that none could see. Unless she moved her hands.

Joseph smiled and gave a weak chuckle that broke Amaranth's heart. “You know… this… is the … first… time… a girl… has touched… my hand that… isn't my mom… since we moved… here… A … few weeks....back… And she… is pretty too...”

Amaranth blushed when she felt the tendrils retract back into her hands.

_ **‘Let go.’** _

Amaranth did as she was told and let go gently, putting his hand down like it was a glass figurine. _‘What was that about?’ _she asked, trying to forget Joseph's compliment.

_ **‘Amaranth, he is like you.’** _

_‘Wha… What?’_

_ **‘He is a clone.’** _

Amaranth stared at Joseph. It made sense. The familiarity, his condition, and the fact he seemed to recognize her from somewhere. It would make sense that there would be more than one kidnapping and more than one replacement. But, she had to make sure.

“Joseph, can I ask you something?”

Joseph nodded weakly, so Amaranth continued. “When did your condition start to manifest itself, and did anything happen before that?”

“When… I… was… Six. After… I… went… missing. Well... that’s… what… my…. Mom… said.”

That was all the confirmation she needed. Joseph was a clone just like her. Then came another chilling thought. This could've - No, it would’ve been her if she had never met Nightstalker; bound to a bed and depending on machines for survival.

“You… know… I always… had…. These… Dreams…” he said, breaking Amaranth out of her thoughts.

“Dreams?”

Joseph let in a few weak breaths that reverberated in his breathing mask. He was clearly suffering, and a wave of empathy surged through Amaranth. “You don’t have to-”

“I… sometimes have… dreams… where… I’m… healthy. Where… I… could… do… things… that I… haven't been… able to do… since… I… was…little.” Tears started to stream down his face, and he looked at her straight in the eye. “My… mom… says… I... will… get… better, but… I… know. I… don’t… have… long. Daisy… I… don’t… want… to… die. When… I… die… Mom… will… be… devastated… Even… with… my... aunt’s… support. she… already… lost… Dad… and… I… know... she… can’t… bear to… lose… me. And… there are… so… many… things… I want… to do.”

Amaranth couldn’t take it anymore. _‘Nightstalker, please, can you help him in any way, please!?’ _Amaranth begged distraughtly. _‘Something! Anything!’_

_**‘Amaranth,’ **_it started softly.

_‘Please!’ _tears flowed down Amaranth's face for the boy she wanted to save so badly. The boy whose pain she understood so well. _‘Nightstalker, please.’_

_ **‘There’s nothing I can do. I’m still fixing you and if… If I separate from you now... You likely will die.’** _

Amaranth hands clenched and shook. “Damn it!” she said softly.

“Excuse me, but who are you?” said a voice.

Amaranth turned around and saw the woman from earlier, her eyes were red and puffy like she had been crying.

“Hi, Mom... this… Is… Daisy… I... invited… her… in.”

Amaranth quickly wiped her face and tried to hide the crack in her voice. “I’m sorry, I saw you run out and looked inside-”

The woman interrupted her. “It's alright since you were invited in. My name is Martha. I am Joseph's mother. I’m glad my Joseph is talking to someone his age. His condition

doesn’t allow for many social interactions.”

“Since you’re here, I will just leave you with-” suddenly the one sound that no one wanted to hear echoed throughout the room. The sound a heart monitor flatlining.

“Oh god, Joseph! Joseph.” Martha ran to an unconscious Joseph's bed crying for him to wake up. At that moment, doctors and nurses ran into the room and went to work to revive the sick boy.

Amaranth stepped to the side and out of the medical staff’s way. She watched the whole thing: Martha crying and calling her son’s name at his bedside and the medical staff doing chest compressions and other techniques to get Joseph's heart to beat again. Amaranth then imagined herself in Joseph’s position with her pare- Amy and Jon grieving by her bedside as doctors tried in vain to keep her alive. She couldn’t stay. She needed to get out. She needed air. Amaranth ran out of the room, tears flowing down her face full force. She ran down the hall, passing confused patrons through the lobby and out the door. She kept running, going across the street, avoiding being hit by a [hog](https://www.halopedia.org/Hog) in the park across from the hospital. She kept running deeper and deeper into the park until she couldn’t anymore. She collapsed onto her knees and wept in the middle of a grassy clearing.

She was so selfish! All this time, she had been so concerned with saving Daisy, and her family, and being able to walk. She never considered that there were others like her, and other families like Daisy’s.

“How many, Nightstalker?!? How many clon- no people were created just to die?!?”

_ **‘Amaranth,’** _

“How many families have to watch their sons, daughters, grandsons, and who knows what else die in front of them? There’s nothing they can do! How many parents had to work to the bone just so their kids could get the medicine, so they could live a little longer?! How many suffered?” she asked, breaking down even more. She banged her fist into the grass again and again until her knuckles were red with blood, and once she stopped, her skin knit itself back together.“It's unfair! How many were like Joseph with hopes and dreams?!

How many didn’t get a symbiote to heal them? Who would be so cruel to do this?”

Amaranth heard the sound of thunder, she looked up and saw dark clouds covering the sky. The rain started to pelt her face. It looked like heaven was crying with her. She felt Nightstalker ooze out of the skin on the top half of her body. It covered her, shapeshifting to form into a midnight blue and black hood to protect her from the rain.

_ **‘Amaranth, listen, I know this impacts you in ways that almost no one can understand, but that feeling you feel right now... Take your sadness, and righteous, and fury, and channel it. Turn it into energy to better yourself, not just for you, Daisy, and your family, but for all those who suffered.”** _

Amaranth got up onto her feet, feeling the fire that was already in her chest burn brighter than ever before. “You’re right, I will find Daisy and the one responsible, I will find out how many there are, and make the one responsible pay. Not just for Daisy and her family, but for all of them. They will get their justice.”

At that moment, a voice called out. “Daisy!”

Amaranth looked behind her and saw Jon wearing a raincoat coming towards her. “There you are. You had me and your mother worried,” he said, running over to hug her.

Amaranth sobbed into his coat. “I’m sorry, Dad, it just-”

“Shhh, it's alright, we heard what happened.” he stroked her hair. “You did a good thing for that boy. She said one of his last words before he passed on was to tell you ‘thank you.’ And she wanted me to tell you to thank you for talking to him in his last moments. ”

“It's unfair, why he died and I live? Why?” she sobbed into his chest.

“I don’t know, my little flower. I don’t know, but it’s important that you keep on living for him. You were given a new chance. Make the most of it for him.”

Amaranth nodded, and the two made their way back to the hospital. And with a fire burning in her heart, she knew what she had to do. For Joseph, Daisy, her family, and all those who suffered.

**Year: 05/25/2525**

**Planet: Reach**

**Location: Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex, Castle Base offices, Omega wing**

Dr. Catherine Halsey’s eyes narrowed as she looked at her data. She was in her office, which was very spartan due to her job requiring her to move from place to place with little hassle. She was going through files and reports on her Datapad that had recently caught her attention. The agent, codenamed Jackboot, assigned to watch over the clone replacements and their families had sent her a report that quite frankly should have been downright impossible. The day after the retrieval of Spartan recruit Daisy-023 her flesh clone replacement, who according to previous reports only had months to live at best and weeks at worst, was now suddenly healthy. According to Jackboot, she was walking around and even doing exercises. Catherine also had noticed something else. Around the same time, three things had happened: the clone’s sudden bouts of health, the mood swings Daisy experienced here and there since her return, and the appearance of the creature that called itself Nightstalker.

“Nightstalker.” Catherine mused to herself. It had been the most talked about subject on waypoint among ONI and the Military brass, while those within the UEG had remained neutral and possibly uncaring.

“Daisy’s mood swings, the flesh clone’s health, and Nightstalker….” Catherine wasn’t one to make a judgment with little evidence, but she was not blind. She was seeing a connection, and it needed to be investigated. Catherine took a sip from the cup of coffee on her desk and made a disgusted face; it was cold. She thought about sending an agent to investigate, but she decided against it. Not only they would likely mess it up, but this was her sin to bear. She had hurt this family. She had taken away their daughter's childhood, so she must be the one to make sure they would not suffer unnecessarily. She could spare a week or so between projects. Meanwhile, she needed to gather as much data as possible on this Nightstalker and have Jackboot keep her updated.

“Deja,” she said.

A projector on her desk came to life and a Greek goddess appeared. She was barefoot, wrapped in a toga, motes of light dancing about her luminous white hair.

_“Yes, Doctor,”_ said Deja, her glassy voice smooth.

“I need a ship ready in roughly four weeks. Inform Mendez I will be gone for a few days within that time, and send me a list of possible escorts.”

_“Right away, is there anything else?”_

Catherine looked down at the lone photo on her desk of her holding a baby girl only a few months old. “Yes, tell me how Miranda is doing.”

“She is currently sleeping peacefully in her crib. There are no disturbances or any reason to be concerned.”

Catherine let a small smile come to her face. Being a mother and head of a top-secret military project wasn’t easy, especially when the child hadn’t been planned. She knew that she wasn’t going to be able to provide all the love and care that Miranda needed; she was already having caretakers caring for her most of the time due to the demands of her job. If she could, Catherine would drop everything to entirely devote herself to raising her and Jacob’s daughter. Still, with Harvest’s sudden blackout, the Spartan project had become more important than anything else. As much as it pained her, she was going to have to send Miranda to live with her father once she was old enough. It was for the best; her father could provide all the attention, love, and care she needed, something she herself couldn’t offer. Plus, she didn’t deserve to be a mother, not after the pain she had caused to other mothers’ children.

“Thank you, Deja, make sure Jackboot keeps me up to date on the status of the Spencer family and the clone. This is all.”

Once the projector deactivated, Catherine leaned back, running a hand through her black hair. “I’m going to need to dye my hair blond again, great.” She muttered before making preparations for her trip, among other things, and looking at the picture of her daughter. She needed to see her before she went to work on her next project later that night.


	4. Ch 3: Calm before the storm

**Year: 06/14/2525**

**Planet: Sargasso**

**Location: the City of Fairfield, Spencer's Estate**

The sound of Amaranth Chatter’s alarm, an energetic song from one of her favorite animes, woke her up. She got up and stretched her arms, looking outside. The sun wasn’t even out. She shivered, feeling Nightstalker oozing out of her back. It stared at her as she yawned.

**_“Morning, Amaranth, ready for your workout routine.”_** it greeted.

Amaranth smiled confidently. “You know the answer to that.” she got out of her bed and walked to her dresser opening its drawer and took out her workout clothes. After putting on her clothes and brushing her teeth, she went downstairs. Under the stairs was a door that leads to Jon’s workout area. A punching bag was in the top right corner, a workout mat in the middle, a treadmill on the right side, and a bench press with weights and dumbells on the left side.

** _‘So, where would you like to begin?’_ **

Amaranth thought about it. Usually, she would start with a 3-mile run, but today she felt like punching something. _ ‘I think a run would be a good warm-up before we get serious.’ _

** _‘Alright, remember 5 miles in 40 minutes or less.’_ **

Amaranth walked over to the treadmill and stretched her legs and arms to loosen herself up. She hopped on the treadmill and pressed the start button. The track started to move slowly, but Amaranth kept increasing the speed until she was going 3 miles per 30 minutes. It wasn’t the most intense workout, but she felt sweat forming on her brow and her heart racing. After running 5 miles in 40 minutes, she turned off the treadmill and grabbed a towel, wiping the sweat from her face. She then went straight towards the punching bag and took out a pair of wireless earbuds. She connected them to her chatter and put them in her ears. She played her favorite soundtrack from one of her favorite animes. She began hitting hit the bag as soon as the [ energetic and high power song ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ12qmGVG7U)started.

** _‘Right Jab’_ **

“Poison Sting!”

Amaranth jabbed with her right fist, making sure to punch with her body and not with her arm knocking the bag back.

** _‘Left jab.’_ **

“Shadow punch!” Amaranth did the same with her left, keeping the bag knocked back. Amaranth kept hitting the bag following Nightstalker's instructions. It had been a few weeks since the clone who thought he was Joseph had died. Since that day, much to her parent's confusion, she began training at 5 AM every day, three hours before tutoring. His death had put more fuel on the fire that burned in her heart. Every punch, every kick, was fueled by determination and the anger she felt thinking about how many others like Joseph, his family, Daisy's family, were hurt. How many families were broken and destroyed? 

** _‘Left kick.’_ **

“Crescent Moon blade!” Amarant lifted her leg into the air in an arcing motion, knocking the bag back again.

** _‘Right kick.’_ **

“Instant Strike!”

Amaranth performed a roundhouse on the bag with a loud ‘smack.’

For the past few weeks, she had trained with Nightstalker and it helped her learn to fight. It taught her some martial art it had learned from its previous host called Shadow Doku. Though her quirk of naming and calling out attack names perplexed Nightstalker, it tolerated it as long she as didn't do it while sneaking. In truth, Amaranth just thought it was cool, and it pumped her up. Amarnath chuckled, remembering Daisy’s parents' reaction when they had walked on her shouting attack names. Jon had an amused and knowing look on his face while Amy's face had turned white with comedic horror, then a shade of red. When asked why, Amy looked embarrassed and slightly horrified, muttering something about ‘getting it from her.’ Amaranth asked Jon about it but said it was nothing after getting a glare from Amy.

Amaranth stepped back, putting her left leg out while keeping her right leg on the ground. She then kept her right hand in while having her left out, using it as a guard. 

“Rapid sting!”

Amaranth performed a series of punches, one after the other at a speed that shouldn’t have been possible for an average person. The bag was knocked back, then came back down, swinging on its chain. Amaranth smirked as she went back into her fighting stance. 

Amaranth relaxed and let out a sigh, turning off the music. She wiped her brow; and in doing so, she saw a noticeable bicep on her arm. Thanks to Nightstalker manipulating her body chemistry to reduce recovery time. Combined with her strict diet, she had made a good amount of progress in a short amount of time. Plus, it was making her taller, maximizing her growth spurt while she was still going through puberty. She was quite fit, even seeing the formation of abs, but she still needed to keep training. The stronger she was as Amaranth, the stronger she was as Nightstalker. 

** _‘You did pretty well, you’re making great improvements. Though I never understood that attack name thing you do.’_ **

Amaranth shrugged. _ ‘It pumps me up, and everyone knows that calling out your attacks makes them stronger!” _

** _‘Humans.’ _ ** it muttered. ** _ ‘Whatever you say. So what you want to do next.’ _ **

“So, let’s see-” Amaranth then heard the sound of footsteps coming from the stairs. Coming down the steps was Jon in his blue pajamas with an amused smile on his face.

“Morning, my little anime protagonist,” he looked behind her at the worn-out punching bag. “I see you gave my old punching bag quite a beating. Then again, I am not surprised based on all the shouting.”

Amaranth blushed and looked down, finding the floor suddenly interesting. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you and mom up.”

Jon chuckled and waved her off. “Don’t worry about it, but you should have seen your mother. She had her head in her hands in embarrassment,” he said with a chuckle, on the verge of full-on laughter. He then looked at her up then down. “You know you're getting taller. Keep growing like this, and you’ll be as tall as me.” he laughed.

Amaranth chuckled with Jon. “Hey, Dad, Why does Mom act so weird about my interest in anime?”

Jon placed a hand under his five o'clock shadowed chin as if deep in thought. After a few moments he turned around, going up the stairs. “Come on, I have something to show you,” he said, waving for her to follow him.

Curious at what he wanted to show her, Amaranth followed him up the stairs through the living room, and into the library. It was a well lit room with a high ceiling that had a chandelier. There was an electric fireplace, a desk where she did her schoolwork and bookshelves that lined the walls and contained books on a variety of genres. There was even a section for her sizable manga collection. Amaranth smiled. Aside from the dreams, the anime, manga, and other works of fiction provided a temporary escape from the condition she once had. Heroes that, despite their weakness, moved bravely forward towards their goal to defeat the villain or save their loved ones with the help of their friends. Much like her and Nightstalker.

Jon locked the door and went to his bookshelf moving a couple of books aside. He put his hand to the back of the shelf and rubbed for a few seconds until a piece of film was scraped off, revealing a hidden compartment. Jon opened the compartment and pulled out a book. “Now, don’t tell your mother I have this; otherwise, she will kill me,” he said with a tinge nervousness. “She doesn’t want people to know about her ‘phase.’ He walked over and handed the book to her.

Amaranth was now even more curious, and studied the book. It was a simple black book- the size of a handbook- labeled ‘Memories.’ Amaranth opened the book and turned to the first page. Inside was a bunch of photos of Daisy’s parents when they were younger, likely in high school. What caught her eye was how Amy and her friends were dressed; they were standing in front of a sign that said ‘Fairfields highschool’ wearing a retro outfit straight out of the anime and mangas from the ancient times of the 1990s. They all wore Japanese school uniforms from the 21st century called a ‘sailor fuku’ with extremely long skirts, a blouse with long sleeves, black penny loafers, and neck scarfs. The outfits were black with a flame pattern design painted on. Amy was in the middle, obviously the leader of the group. She wore her uniform differently with her blouse hung on her shoulders, revealing her torso covered by bandages from her stomach to her breast. She was wearing a flame pattern surgical mask and her hair was dyed to look like fire. In her hand with the blade resting on her shoulder, was a bamboo sword. Written under each girl was nicknames like ‘Torchstar,’ ‘Shadowsun,’ ‘Blackstar,’ ‘Starfire,’ but under Amy was the nickname ‘Spitfire.’ Amy’s young face had a look of confidence and rebellion with a bit of an attitude mixed in. In short, she was very unlike the woman she was now.

Amaranth looked at Jon with a bewildered expression. “Dad, explain.”

Jon, with a smile, began to explain. “You see, when your mother and I were in high school, a lot of phases came. Some stayed and were fondly remembered, while others not so much. There was this one when those old 21st school sailor uniforms you see in you animes went into fashion and every girl dressed in one. Now, your mother and her friends were, how do I put this nicely? Hmmm... were a little enthusiastic. Especially for the ‘banchou’ and ‘sukeban’ genre, so they formed this gang based on that. Even gave themselves nicknames.”

** _‘Well, that explains your ‘quirks’.’_ **

Amaranth’s mouth hug opened, imagining Amy. Amy, who didn’t like her hobby, loving the same hobby. Then another thought came to her. “Wait, Mom was in a gang!”

Jon shushed her. “Hey, not so loud. You might wake your mother. Don’t worry, it wasn’t one of those gangs. More like the type that hangs out around the corner, causes petty troubles, pranks, that kind of thing. They never got violent, but let me tell you-” Jon shook his head while rubbing his chin. “She lived up to her nickname, Spitfire. Amy had quite a temper back in the day, before she mellowed out. Even punched me so hard she knocked me off my feet. Though, to be fair, I did make a raunchy comment towards her.” he explained fondly.

Amaranth shook her head. She couldn’t believe Amy used to act like this. She looked further through the book, seeing photos of Amy with her friends doing different poses. There was even one where Amy was shouting with her bamboo sword held high. Jon looked at the picture and tried to keep the laughter out of his voice.

“Your mother also had a quirk where she would call out her attacks. Raging Demon! Dark Lance! Omni Crusher!” he said, doing a move to go along with each ‘attack.’”

** _‘Well, that sounds familiar. Another thing you got from her.’_ **

_ ‘No kidding, but I wonder why she was so ashamed of it?’ _

“Dad, why did Mom want to keep this a secret?”

Jon ruffled Amaranth’s hair. “Well, to her, it was an embarrassing time of her life. She described it as an ‘extended eighth-grade syndrome.’ She also got into a lot of fights during that time. She viewed it as a childish thing and worries that you will follow her footsteps. When she first heard your attack names when hitting my punching bag, she turned white as a ghost.” 

Amaranth giggled loudly, remembering that day and how confused she had been as to why Amy had appeared so terrified. Now she knew. The thought of Daisy’s mother of being a wannabe Sukeban was so hilarious. 

Jon went to her side and took the book from her hands. “Let me show you something else,” he then turned to the back of the book. Amaranth noticed that the back cover was a couple of inches thicker than the front. He scratched on the inside of the cover and peeled back a section of paper revealing a hidden compartment. He then pulled out a circular device the size of the palm of her hand. It was a holo-still. Though relatively cheap, they were still more expensive than regular photos, not as hardy, and ran on batteries; so, they never replaced the trusted medium. Jon then pulled the two ends of the circle apart, and between the two ends, a holographic picture appeared displaying Amy and friends in their Sekuban outfits facing off. Jon and four of his friends dressed in Japanese school uniforms with Jon dressed as a bonchou with his shirt hung on his shoulders exposing his muscular chest wrapped in bandages. His arms were folded with a stern expression on his face. A straw or some sort of weed was hanging out of his mouth.

Amaranth failed to hold back her laughter at the image. “I didn’t know you were into that stuff too, Dad.”

Jon rubbed the back of his head and chuckled. “Well, not exactly. I did it to impress your mom, and well, we’re married, and you're here, so it worked pretty well.” 

Amaranth forced a laugh, but internally winced when reminded of Daisy. Amy didn’t give birth to her, but to Daisy. She was just something grown in a test-tube. Jon closed the holo-still and put it back in the book’s hidden compartment, making sure to cover it. He closed the book and placed it back in its hiding spot.

He looked at Amaranth with a smile. “Remember, your mother can’t know about this.”

Amaranth nodded. “I won’t tell, Mom. I promise.” Amaranth then suddenly felt Nightstalker’s hunger.

** _‘Amaranth, hungry.’_ **

_ ‘Alright, let's get some food. I’m feeling hungry myself.’ _

“Dad, I’m going to get some breakfast.” 

Jon made a disgusted face. “Another one of your ‘smoothies’?” he said.

Amaranth nodded and internally winced. “Yes, it's part of my diet,” she said, only telling the half-truth.

Jon let out a sigh and shook his head. “I can never understand how you like the stuff much less the brains it’s made out of.”

That was another thing her parents were perplexed about: her sudden appetite for animal brains. They got it for cheap from the local butcher shops due to the brains having such a limited customer base, and it helped that most of them were leftovers that didn’t sell. She blended them together with protein powder and flavoring, trying to mask the taste into a ‘smoothie.’ It was Amaranth's attempt at making it easier to put down. 

It didn’t help much.

“Well, don’t let me keep you. Go get some breakfast before your tutor arrives. I will join you shortly.” Jon said, waving her off.

“Alright, Dad.” Amaranth exited the library and went to the kitchen through the den. She turned on the TV and had it connect to waypoint. It went straight to a news streaming site, which was doing another piece about the ‘Miracle girl.’ That was another thing that had been happening for the past three weeks; she was getting a lot of attention from the news. While most reporters respected their answer if they said no to an interview, others, not so much. The excitement had died down considerably during the three weeks; however, they still got noisy reporters or doctors who wanted to perform tests despite all previous results showing there was nothing to worry about with her.

She went straight toward the fridge and opened up its door. She dug through its contents until she pulled out a ceramic plate with chunks of pig brains cut into pieces. Feeling Nightstalker’s anticipation, she walked over to the counter by the stove where the blender was located. Behind the mixer were an assortment of protein powders, a box of chocolates, and a jar of chocolate powder. Amaranth opened up the pitcher and began to make Nightstalkers ‘smoothie’. She added the brains, two scoops of the protein powder, several scoops of chocolate, a few pieces of chocolate, and finally a prayer to not throw up. She put the lid back on and pressed the button. After a minute of blending, it was ready; a brownish-gray liquefied mash that by just looking at it made her stomach churn. She pinched her nose, put the pitcher to her lips, and downed the unholy concoction. 

A trick she had learned was just chucking the thing down as quickly as possible, so that way she only had to deal with the more bearable aftertaste. She gulped down the gelatinous smoothie as fast as possible until the pitcher was empty. What came next was the aftertaste, and she nearly gagged from the chocolatey irony flavor. She rushed to the fridge and move its contents to the side, revealing a bottle of chocolate milk. She took the bottle out and chugged it down, replacing the chocolaty irony taste with pure milky chocolate. After chugging the entire bottle, she let out a relieved breath.

** _‘Well, that was a nice breakfast. Chock full of hormones.’ _ **Nightstalker said pleasantly.

“Glad you enjoy it,” Amaranth said dryly, sitting down at the kitchen table.

“Who are you talking to?” 

Amaranth turned around and saw Daisy’s father standing in the doorway. “Oh, I was just talking to myself. That’s all.”

Jon just shrugged and walked towards the fridge, pulling out a carton of eggs and a box of sausage patties. “So, do you want some eggs and sausages?”

Amaranth nodded, that was another thing about having Nightstalker inside her, she was eating for two now. “Yes, scrambled, please.”

“Coming right up,” Jon took out a skillet and cracked some eggs into the pan. Within minutes the smell of eggs and sausage permeated the kitchen. In that moment, Amy, still in her nightgown, entered the kitchen.

“Good morning, honey. Good morning, Daisy.” Amy hugged Amaranth and pecked her husband on the cheek. She then examined Amaranth. “So how was your morning exercise?” she asked.

“It was alright. The same routine, I just didn’t get to the weights.” 

Jon came to the table and placed a plate of eggs and sausages in front of them, then sat down with his plate. “I still can’t believe all the progress you made. Come on, show me what you got!” he said, rolling up his right sleeve and flexing his mountain of a bicep.

Amaranth smiled and did the same, showing off her small hill of a bicep. Amy was shaking her head, clearly amused.

Jon barked out laughing. "HAHAHA! You have my genes, alright! It reminds me of me after I finished Bootcamp. I was built like a brick house going in, then built like a [ Marathon-class ](https://www.halopedia.org/Marathon-class_heavy_cruiser) coming out!" he said, rolling his sleeve back down then took a bite of sausage.

Amy shook her head at her husband's boisterous antics, which she loved him for. But it could grate on her nerves a little. "Calm down, Jon. You’re too loud." She then turned her attention back towards her daughter. "Now, Daisy, be careful. It has only been three weeks. We don't want you to push yourself too hard." she cautioned.

Amaranth took a bite of her eggs, savoring the paprika and Italian spices. So much better than Nightstalker’s breakfast. "Alright, Mom, don't worry, I will be careful."

“Well, anyway, let’s see what’s on the news.” Jon took the remote off the table and turned on the TV, switching it to the Sargasso News Streaming site. 

The family ate and talked, mostly about what they had been up to and whatever was on the news at the time. They spoke about the sudden cancellation and barring of all trips to the outer colony of Harvest to the robbery that was stopped the night before by Nightstalker- which the newswoman was talking about at the moment. 

_ “-and thanks to the efforts of Nightstalker, the criminals were thwarted, and our brave men and women in uniform apprehended them. In other news-” _Jon turned down the volume.

** _‘Heh, That was a fun night.’_ **

Amaranth smiled a little. That was another thing she had done for the past few weeks. She was going out stopping criminals as Nightstalker, performing stunts in the city, and practicing fighting using the symbiotes abilities. “Well, it looks like Nightstalker cleaned the streets again,” she said, trying to keep the pride out her voice.

“I still think she shouldn’t be doing this. It might encourage others to follow in her footsteps,” commented Amy.

Jon shrugged. “As long she isn't killing the criminals and is working with the police, I don’t think it is a problem. It’s a load off their backs, especially with how little they get paid these days.” Jon took a sip of the coffee when his chatter ringed. “Looks like an important number. I better take it. Honey, can you have the ‘conversation’ with Daisy. This might take a while.”

Amy nodded. “Yes, I can talk to her about it. Go on.”

Jon excused himself and went out into the den, leaving Amaranth with Amy. Amy turned her attention back to Amaranth.

“Mom, what do you and Dad mean by ‘conversation’?

“So, Daisy, how would you feel about going to a private school?” asked Amy.

Amaranth cocked an eyebrow. The question had kinda come out of nowhere. “I don’t know. I guess it would be nice. Why, you ask?”

“Well, your father and I feel with your improved condition we could send to a private school, so you can spend time with kids your own age. Or do you want to continue with homeschooling?” she asked.

Amaranth thought about it. She wanted to go and would love to have the chance to go to school and experience the joys and pains of going to a public or private school, but on the other hand, she felt she shouldn’t. She felt she would be stealing more of what should have been Daisy’s.

** _‘Amaranth, you shouldn’t punish yourself like this. And I think Daisy probably wouldn't want you too either. Take the opportunity.’_ **

Amaranth contemplated Nightstalker's words. “I don’t know,” she said, answering Amy and Nightstalker.

Amy nodded understandingly. “I know this is a big change. Take your time. We have until the end of the year to sort everything out.”

Jon came back and sat back into his chair rubbing his temples. “I just got an interesting phone call.”

Amy gasped. “Did something happened?”

Jon shook his head. “No, nothing like that. It was just another doctor that wants to interview our Daughter and run some tests.”

Amy cocked an eyebrow, confused. “If it's another pushy doctor-”

“It's not that. In fact, she was very considerate, saying she will compensate us for the trouble and that it will be completely private. From my understanding, she is not interested in fame, just figuring out why our Daisy suddenly got better. I think we should humor her. She promised to stop at any questioning that makes us feel uncomfortable. But it's up to our daughter.”

Amy turned her attention to Amaranth. “Do you want to see this woman?”

Amaranth shrugged. “If Dad says she is different, then I will humor her. Can’t be worse than the other fame-seeking doctors.”

“Well, since that's settled, I will give her a call. She said she can be here at 4:00 pm today. An hour after your tutoring ends.”

The doorbell rang. Amy got up. “I will get it,” she said.

She left the kitchen, and after a few moments, she came back with Maxine in tow. Maxine wore a casual outfit and her hair was tied into a ponytail. Amaranth excitedly got up and hugged Maxine. “Maxine, you're here!”

Maxine chuckled and hugged back. “Good morning, Daisy,” Maxine let go of Amaranth and examined her. “I see you were exercising. How'd it go?”

Amaranth smiled. “Well, I did half of my usual routine. Some running and beating up my Dad’s punching bag,” she said, doing a couple of jabs at the air.

Maxine chuckled and ruffled Amaranth's hair. “And it was only three weeks ago that you were in a wheelchair. Look at you now, walking and running around like nothing and getting taller. I can’t believe it… I’m glad you’re better.” she let out a sigh. “Daisy, there is something I need to tell you.”

Amaranth didn’t like the way she said that. “Is something the matter, Maxine?”

When Maxine didn't answer right away, Amy stepped up. “You see, Daisy-”

“No, I can do this.” Maxine let out a sigh as if preparing herself. “Daisy, I am moving to Earth,” she said.

Amaranth stared at her friend in shock. “What… Why?” she asked finally.

“I was given a job opportunity earlier this year and rejected. A couple of days ago, I was given the same opportunity again.” Maxine bent down. “The reason why I rejected it the first time was that I knew you were going to… pass away soon. I didn't want to leave you and your parents alone in your final moments.”

** _‘Such loyalty is commendable. You’re lucky to have her as a nurse.’_ **

Amaranth couldn’t agree more. Maxine was willing to give up a high paying job just so she could be by Amaranth’s side in her final moments. “Thank you, I… I hope you do well.” Amaranth took a moment to hold back her tears. “So, when do you leave.”

“Tomorrow morning, in fact. They want me to start right away. And I still have some more packing to do, but I had to stop by to tell you all. I had a wonderful time being your nurse, and you’re like a little sister to me.”

Amaranth smiled sadly. “I’m going to miss you. I don’t want you to leave, but I am happy for you.” 

Amy spoke up. “Don’t worry, sweetie, you can still call and email her. And with your improved condition, we can travel to Earth and visit her.”

Maxine nodded then hugged Amaranth. “That’s right. But now, I have to get going and finish packing.” She then hugged Amaranth again. “Thank you all for the opportunity and a good time, and before I go... here.” Maxine dug into her pocket and pulled out a card handing it to Amaranth.

Amaranth took the card and saw it was a drawing of her as Nightstalker swinging through the city. It was a trading card, and it had a bio and everything. Amaranth and Nightstalker were impressed at how accurate the drawing was. Whoever did it had a good eye. “Thank you, I don’t know what to say.”

Maxine smiled. “You’re welcome, I knew how much you like Nightstalker, so I got you that card as a final gift before I leave.

“We also have a gift for you before leaving,” said Jon as he typed something on his chatter.

Maxine chatter rang, she checked it, and her jaw dropped. “Mr. Spencer, this is too much! I can’t take-”

Amy stopped her. “We are not taking no for an answer. You gave up a promising job opportunity so you could spend time with our daughter till the end. For that, we can’t express how grateful we are. Consider this a token of our gratitude and, besides, you’re practically family.”

Maxine nodded while wiping a tear from her eye. “Thank you, Mrs. Spencer. Well, I gotta get going.” she then turned her attention to Amaranth. “Come visit sometime, okay. Also, congratulations, you will make a fantastic big sister,” she said, smiling.

Amaranth blinked a couple of times, processing what Maxine just said. “Big… Sister?” she said slowly then looked at Jon and Amy. Jon was rubbing the back of his head, chuckling nervously while Amy had a nervous smile.

“Maxine, we haven't told Daisy the news yet,” said Amy.

Maxine covered her mouth and gasped. “Oh, I am so sorry. I thought you had told her,” she said, her face turning red.

Jon let out a sigh. “It’s alright.” he then turned his attention towards Amaranth. “Daisy, you see your mother always had trouble conceiving, but lately she hasn’t been feeling well, so she went to the doctor, and we found out-”

“I’m pregnant.” interrupted Amy.

Amaranth just stood there, shocked.

** _“Well, that was unexpected,”_ ** added Nightstalker.

**(a few hours later)**

Catherine Halsey looked out the opened window of the car riding across the bridge, engrossed by the endless blue water of the Sargasso sea. It was a beautiful sight to compliment a perfect afternoon. The sun was at just the right angle, the wind was blowing just right, and the temperature was pleasant. Catherine let out a sigh, it was just like she remembered it from all those years. She never thought she would be returning here, especially after what she had done, and much less visiting the family she had wronged so horribly. But despite her personal reservations, she had to go. It was her sin, so it was her responsibility to right what had gone wrong. The situation worried Catherine, and the more she thought about it, the more worried she became. The very fact that the flesh clone had lived longer than expected was one thing. Still, one of them was one-minute terminally ill then became healthy overnight. There was a tiny chance a flesh clone would be born healthy, but it would have been healthy from the beginning. The miracle child, that was what the flesh clone was called. Catherine didn’t believe it was a miracle instead there has to be a logical reason for the clone’s recovery. And hopefully, it was nothing that she should worry about, and that the knowledge she would gain from this visit could be used for the other surviving clones. To minimize their and their families suffering. She pulled out her tablet and unlocked it, going through the reports Jackboot had sent her for the last few weeks. 

“We are almost at our destination, Doctor.” said her escort driving the car.

“Alright, remember your part. We are from a Medical University from Earth, and you're my assistant, I am a professor.” She took a name badge for the University of Stanford and clipped it to her white vest. It was a fake, but so cleverly fabricated that only those who dug really deep could even figure it out.

“Yes, Doctor,” he said professionally rubbing a hand through his black hair.

Catherine simply nodded. Her escort was very taciturn, but very professional, and did as told. She looked out through the front window and saw the Spencer Residence coming ever closer. She took a deep breath and tried to bury any guilt she was feeling.

**Year: 06/14/2525**

**Planet: Sargasso**

**Location: the City of Fairfield, Spencer's Estate**

Amaranth laid on the living room couch with a box of chocolates and a datapad scouring waypoint, trying to find anything that could give her a starting point for finding Daisy. Unfortunately, she wasn’t making much progress. It had been almost an hour since the end of her tutoring sessions; and, throughout the day since Amy dropped the news one specific thought had been going through Amaranth’s mind.

Amaranth placed her manga down. _ ‘I am going to be a big sister. Or rather, Daisy is going to be a big sister.’ _she dug into her box of chocolate and popped one into her mouth feeling a flash of guilt.

** _‘Despite your origins, I think you make a good big sister based on what I know of human sibling relationships.’_ **

_ ‘It is not that. It's just-’ _ Amaranth let out a sigh. _ ‘Daisy should be here experiencing this, not me.’ _

Amaranth felt Nightstalker’s frustration and empathy. ** _“Amaranth, I told you, you need to stop punishing yourself. I understand it’s hard, but you need to just live.’_ **

_ ‘I know, it’s just hard with what I know. But no matter what, I will be the best big sister I can be!’ _

Nightstalker chuckled. **_‘Now, that’s what I want to hear._** **_Anyway, ready for another doctor visit?’_**

Amaranth shrugged. _ ‘I don’t know. I mean, I am used to it, and this one wasn’t pushy about trying to see me. I just have this worrying feeling.’ _

The doorbell rang. “I’m coming!” yelled Jon, followed by the sound of his footsteps. 

Curious. Amaranth got up, cleaned up her mess, and headed towards the front door. She straightened her workout clothes on the way. She entered the hall leading to the front door and saw Amy and Jon welcoming two people in. One was a man, Amaranth assumed was the doctor's assistant, And in front of him was a woman of average height but shorter than Amy. She carried a large shoulder bag and wore a pair of glasses over her blue eyes that seemed to analyze everything. Amaranth felt uneasy from looking at the women. But not only that, she also felt an instant dislike- almost hatred- towards her. 

** _‘Is something wrong, Amaranth? You don't seem to like our guest very much.’_ **

Amaranth narrowed her eyes, glaring daggers at the woman. Why was she feeling this way? She didn't even know the woman, yet she felt such negative emotions. _ ‘I don’t know, there’s something… familiar about her, and I don’t like it.’ _

Amy saw her just standing there and waved her to come over. “Daisy, come over and meet Dr. Holly and her assistant. They’re from the University of Stanford on Earth.”

Hesitating for a second, Amaranth walked to meet the doctor. Amaranth noticed that she was as tall as her. Dr. Holly... For some reason, that name didn’t fit the woman. 

Dr. Holly placed out her hand out for a shake. “You must be Daisy. It’s nice to meet you,” she said pleasantly.

Amaranth tried to put on a convincing smile, and reluctantly shook Dr. Holly’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Dr. Holly,” she said, lying through her teeth.

There was a glint in Holly’s eye before she turned towards Amy and Jon. “How about we begin with an interview.”

“Alright, let's do this in the living room. It would be much more comfortable than the hallway,” said Amy.

“That will be perfect, Mrs. Spencer,” said Dr. Holly.

The group went into the living room. Holly and her assistant sat on the couch on the left side of the main couch while the Spencers sat on the main sofa. After Amy brought out refreshments and everyone got comfortable, Dr.Holly took a data tablet with a camera out of her bag. Her assistant just sat quietly with his back straight, which unnerved Amaranth for some reason. After typing some stuff into it, she nodded. 

“Now, I will be asking some questions. If any of these questions feel too uncomfortable, feel free to let me know. Understand?” Dr. Holly said kindly, but professionally almost like she was trying to keep her distance.

“We understand, ask away,” said Jon.

Dr. Holly nodded. “Good, Now be aware this interview will be recorded for future references. Is that alright?” Once the Spencers agreed to it, the doctor continued. “Now, until recently, Daisy suffered from an assortment of autoimmune and genetic disorders that were… Terminal, correct?”

The mood shifted slightly as Amaranth, and surely Jon and Amy remembered. “Yes, for eight years we watched her suffer.” Amy wiped a tear from her eye. “We devoted everything we had to help our daughter live better and to find a cure. All the doctors said the same thing: that she would be lucky to make it through another year.” she choked as Jon and Amaranth comforted her. “But, it is okay, a miracle happened, and Daisy is as healthy as ever,” she said, regaining her composure.

Dr. Holly typed on her datapad, but Amaranth noticed that she was typing a little slower, and there was something in her eyes. Amaranth could have sworn she saw… guilt? After typing, she went on to her next question.

“Was there anything out of the ordinary that happened to your daughter before her miraculous recovery?”

Amy and Jon shook their heads. “Nothing happened, the only thing that happened that day was the meteor shower,” said Jon.

“Well, Daisy did go to bed early that night, but that’s about it,” added Amy.

“Yeah, it was a boring day,” added Amaranth. _ ‘Except earlier that day, I met the real Daisy and suffered, actually I’m still suffering from an identity crisis. And later that night, I became Nightstalker’s host and beat up some thugs.’ _she thought.

Dr. Holly hummed as she typed the information into her Datapad. “Now, from what I read from previous interviews, Daisy made some lifestyle changes and made quite a bit of progress since then?”

Jon nodded proudly. “Yes, I am proud of my little girl. She got her new lease at life and is taking advantage of it. She exercises every morning, even cutting down on sweets which considering her massive sweet tooth…”

“Though we worry she might be pushing herself too hard,” added Amy.

“Yes, I wanted to ask about that.” Dr. Holly turned her attention to Amaranth and studied her from head to toe. “I can see you made some progress with your body. What is your exercise routine and diet usually like?”

** _‘Be sure to fudge a little on your daily routine. Give her the routine Jon and Amy think you do. Don’t want her to suspect anything more.’_ **

_ ‘Okay.’ _

Ignoring the uncomfortable feeling, she answered the question. “Well, I get up at 5:00 am every morning and start with a 3-4 mile run. And as of now, I do 100 (200 in reality) sit-ups, push-ups, and squats. And some weightlifting with 67-72 pound weights (in reality, as of recently it was more like 150 pounds). As for my diet, I drink a protein smoothie every morning after my workout.”

Jon and Amy shivered a little at the mention of her ‘smoothie’ Amaranth also noticed that Dr. Holly had a look of interest and worry? But it was gone as soon as it came.

Dr. Holly typed on her Datapad at a rapid pace before turning her attention back to them. “That brings me to my next question. What does Daisy’s diet look like now? Has there been any changes?”

Amaranth coughed tried to figure out how to tell Dr. Holly about Nightstalker’s hunger for brains. “Well, I can eat more now. My tastes, for the most part, stayed the same. I just cut back on the sugar and increased my protein intake.”

“She practically eats for two,” added Jon with an amused smile.

Dr. Holly nodded as she typed some more on the datapad. “Now, I am curious, what do you put in your smoothies?” she asked.

Amaranth rubbed the back of her head. “Oh, the usual: Chocolate, different protein powders, vitamins, and... brains.”

Holly blinked as she suddenly stopped typing. “Excuse me, can you repeat the for me?”

“She developed a taste for brains. She put them in her smoothie for protein,” explained Amy.

Dr. Holly cocked an eyebrow before typing in the information. “Yes, I heard that, but I thought it was- nevermind. Okay, on to the next question-”

For the next hour, Dr. Holly asked multiple questions about Amaranth’s lifestyle, sleep habits, more questions about her diet, and more questions about any strange behavior since her recovery. One story that seemed to catch her interest was the story of where Amaranth met Joseph and how she reacted. For some reason felt a wave of anger at the woman when the story was told. She didn’t know why and quickly buried it. After she asked her questions, she requested to see Amaranth do some exercises. Amaranth agreed to it an, and the group led Dr. Holly and her assistant to Jon’s personal Gym. Amaranth was asked to do some simple weightlifting. She held back and only doing a little over half of what she could do and some running on the treadmill. After three sets and 3 miles of running, Dr. Holly decided that was enough for that day, but before she left, she requested a blood sample. The decision was left up to Amaranth since it was her blood. After some thought, she let the doctor get a sample figuring she wouldn’t find anything except for a few ‘harmless anomalies’ like the other doctors had, since Nightstalker could filter most of the extra hormones out of her exiting blood. After getting her sample, Holly and her assistant left, setting up another appointment for the next day at 6:00 pm. Since dinner was around that time, she was invited. Holly accepted the invitation and left.

**(Later that Night.)**

**Year: 06/4/2525**

**Planet: Sargasso**

**Location: the City of Fairfield, Fairfield Luxury Hotel**

Catherine sat on the bed in her room at a relatively luxurious hotel staring at her laptop’s screen with a laser focus, looking through her notes made during her interview with the Spencer’s. She also went through the clone’s medical records going back months, while Jerrod was analyzing the blood sample she had placed in the analyzer attached to her laptop. Catherine let out a tired sigh. She wanted this to be a simple anomaly. A rare case of a flesh clone that could live a full life and have a family being spared from further grief and heartache, but instead, she was concerned. Very concerned.

Catherine took a sip of dark roast from her cup as she looked through the part of her notes that worried her. It was apparent she hadn’t told her ‘parents’ her meeting with her donor. That was one worry off her ever-growing list. She didn’t want to know what ONI would do if the clone had told them, but there were other worries.

Since her recovery, she went from barely under a hundred pounds to almost 130, gaining approximately thirty pounds in muscle in little over a month! Her parents attributed that to inheriting it from her father and mother. He was well built and both sides of the family had a medical history of having an easier time building muscle. And being tall was a natural assumption to make; but even then, gaining that much even with the strictest of training regiment and dieting in such a short amount of time was out of the norm. Typically, such a thing was impossible. She also seemed to have hit a major growth spurt. based on her medical records, she was only 5’4 previously, but had grown to almost 5’7 in a little over a month, and seemed to still be growing. It didn't escape Catherine's notice. It was very similar to the effects of the Spartan project's thyroid implant augmentation. Assuming she kept growing at this rate, she would be 6’2 within a few months. Her strange diet was also of concern. Not only she was eating almost double of what a 14-year-old should, but she developed an appetite for brains (she didn't buy the ‘for protein’ reason). She was also eating a large amount of chocolate and other protein-heavy products. 

From what her parents had told Halsey, beside those things, she acted more or less the same. Still, Catherine couldn’t help but notice that the clone acted apprehensively around her, and when she thought Catherine wasn’t looking the girl kept glaring at her. Her eyes were full of loathing. The same look Daisy-023 had given her, but that was impossible. There was no way the clone would know her. There were so many red flags that the Spencer’s should have known something was off with their ‘daughter.’ Then again, they were probably so relieved that their daughter wasn’t dying that they were ignoring these strange occurrences. And based on the notes from the previous doctors, they all viewed it as an anomaly that would set itself straight after puberty. If only they had dug a little deeper.

Her thoughts were interrupted when her laptop’s mini-hologram projector came to life, and a sparkling ball of light with a formal butler tone appeared. “Ma’am, the blood analysis is complete, and I believe you will find the results quite intriguing,” said the Micro-AI.

“Show me,” said Catherine, and at that moment, the blood analysis results popped up. It was a quick and easy analysis. Not as in-depth as a full scan, but it was enough for her needs. And the results caused her to raise an eyebrow. “Interesting,” she whispered as she stared at the results. If she was reading this correctly, the clone’s hormone levels were a bit higher than the average for a person her age. This wasn’t too unusual. It sometimes happened, especially with a family medical history like the Spencers’, but she also noticed that all the hormones related to growth and strength development were a little higher than the rest. “Growth hormone, Luteinizing hormone, Follicle-stimulating hormone, Thyroxine stimulating hormone, Adrenocorticotropic hormone, estrogen, and other growth hormones,” she said, listing the results on the screen. Plus, in total, everything was slightly higher than in previous results. To someone with her medical knowledge, it was evident that her pituitary gland and hypothalamus were being stimulated to an excessive degree. It would explain the clone’s growth spurt, increased strength, endurance, and muscle development; but, it didn’t explain the rate of those developments.

If that had been the case, then she should have been suffering from some health complications ; so there had to be something more to this. She had a feeling it was all related to Nightstalker’s appearance. It was too much of a coincidence. _ ‘Nightstalker, Daisy’s mood swings, and the clone’s sudden bout of health... How are they connected?’ _

“Show me the genetic analysis,” she ordered.

“Right away, ma’am.”

A detailed readout of the clone’s genetic structure appeared on the screen along with a readout from a couple of months prior. It was as Catherine thought. The clone’s genetic structure was somehow repairing itself, or something was fixing it. Either way, it was fascinating and worrisome.

The sound of the room door opening alerted Catherine and her escort ONI agent, Lieutenant junior grade Josh Conner, came through the door with a hot cup of dark roast and a bag of Chinese food. “You’re late,” she said simply returning back to her laptop.

The Lieutenant cleared his throat. “Sorry, Doctor. I had a feeling I was being followed, so I took an indirect route. Had a damn bird poop on my jacket,” he said, showing the white clump on his jacket’s front. “I’m going to have to wash this later.”

Catherine let out a sigh. “Well, at least you brought the coffee,” she said, taking the life-giving nectar from him after giving him a quick thank you.

“So, what did you find out about our target?” Conner asked, hanging his coat on the rack by the door.

“She has an abnormal amount of growth hormones in her system that weren’t there before, which would explain her unusual growth spurt, among other things.”

“So, what are you planning?”

“For an ONI agent, you ask a lot of questions.”

“Part of the job description,”

“We will personally keep an eye on her for a few more days, and once we leave, I will assign an agent to keep watch for as long as needed,” Catherine explained, scrolling away on her laptop, multitasking going through the blood sample results and medical records. 

Connor simply nodded. “I am going to get some sleep and let you work. Goodnight, Doctor.”

Catherine gave her escort a quick goodnight. He might not be the most enjoyable to be around, but he knew when to leave her alone and let her work. And there was much work to be done. She took a sip of her fresh coffee and cringed. He brought the wrong brand. She needed to go out and get her own coffee.

**(Outside the room.)**

Unknown to them, they were being spied on. The piece of bird poop, sensing no one was looking, slid down the jacket and landed onto the carpeted floor. It slithered its way towards the door and squeezed under it. It went right through, and down the hall. Fortunately, it was empty except for one individual who was just getting off the elevator. The piece of poop quickly slithered towards the elevator. The man was patiently waiting, and once it arrived at the front of his shoe, it changed color from black and white to a reddish-brown.

“Let’s see what you have to tell us.” the man said, bending down to absorb the small piece of his symbiote. He had been assigned to watch the Spencers and to keep an eye on any doctor that visited them to make sure they didn’t find anything too suspicious. He had tampered with a test or two, but overall he had made sure nobody snooped any deeper.

Once it was absorbed, the man processed the information, and his face turned white. “This is bad, ONI is involved. I am going to have to report this to the boss. Damn…” The man quickly pulled out his chatter to report his findings.

**Year: 06/4/2525**

**Planet: Sargasso**

**Location: the City of Fairfield, Downtown**

Amaranth swung through the streets of town, tendrils extending from her arms with each new swing. She wasn’t in the best of moods. Usually, she enjoyed swinging through the city. When she swung, flipping and somersaulting, feeling the air through her ‘hair,’ she felt free and unbound. But she wasn’t feeling it right now. In fact, throughout her patrol, something had been bothering her. That woman, Dr. Holly. She seemed so familiar... Every time she thought about the woman, she felt a wave of hatred and anger towards her. But why? She had never met the woman before that was for sure, so why did she have negative feelings towards her?

** _‘Penny for your thoughts? Usually, you feel elation during our nightly patrols. ’ _ ** a concerned Nightstalker asked using a human phrase it picked up.

Amaranth retracted a tendril performing a flip, and landed on the wall of a skyscraper before crawling up the wall. Once she reached the top, she flipped onto its edge and crouched, looking over the city. She took a minute to take in the sights, for no matter how many times she had done this, it always took her breath away. “_ It just… I can’t get my mind off that woman. There is something about her….” _

** _‘I see. You sure you never met her before? Maybe she just looked very similar to someone you know,’ _ **it suggested.

Amaranth shook her head. _ “No, and I don’t think so. I would know if I met someone that looked similar to her.” _

** _‘Hmmm, well how about you do that thing you do when you look over the city. That will make you feel better.’_ **

Amaranth chuckled. Maybe a little roleplay would help distract her. Amaranth cleared her throat and began her short speech. “We are the monster that goes bump in the night; We are the nightmare of all evildoers — the nocturnal hunters of evil. We are the emissaries from hell! Nightstalker!” she yelled from the rooftop, followed by a roar and posed as she pulled her arms back and extended her stingers. It made her feel a little better. Though she did think she needed to rewrite the speech a little.

** _‘Better?’_ **

_“Not really,”_ she said, retracting her stingers and looking up at the starry night while the wind gently blew through her hair. Sargasso’s two moons floated in the black sky.

** _‘Hmmm, you know, I know a lot about you, but you don't know much about me. How about this, ask me any question and I will answer to the best of my ability.’_ **

Amaranth thought about it. It was right, she didn’t know much about it beyond what it had told her when they had first met and some other minor tidbits. She was interested in learning about its past._ “Alright, let’s start with something simple. How old are you?” _

** _‘By human standards quite old, but by Klyntar standards quite young. We don’t keep track of our age. Quite redundant after a while, but if I were to guess somewhere between 200-500 years.’ _ **it said after a moment of silence.

Amaranth was shocked, she knew it was old, but not that old. And it said it's young by its kind’s standards_ . “So, you must’ve been through a lot of hosts?” _

** _‘I have been through many hosts. A couple stood out from the rest.’_ **

That piqued Amaranth's interest. “_ Who?” _

** _“One was part of an insectoid race. His name too complicated for the human tongue. He was a brave and honorable warrior. He taught me a lot about those two things. In fact, I gained the stingers from him. And my name.”_ **

_ “Wait, so you didn’t originally have stingers?” _

** _‘My kind can acquire useful traits from our hosts. Such as the stingers I acquired from my insectoid host.’_ **

Amaranth hummed in thought. **“Whatever happened to him?”**

** _‘He sacrificed himself to save a ship full of people. But before he did that, he forced me to separate from him and jettisoned me into space so I wouldn’t go down with him. I ended up on an asteroid along with a few others of my kind, went into stasis. Eventually, we were found by our captors.’_ **

Sensing Nightstaker’s sadness, Amaranth decided to change the subject. _ “So, who was your second memorable host?” _

** _‘She was a marine who ended up homeless. She was kidnapped off the streets and used as a test subject by my captors. She taught me much about your kind and about the Shadow Doku fighting style. She was a good woman and an excellent warrior.'_ **

_ "What happened to her?" _

Nightstalker was quiet for a moment, speaking again. ** _'We tried to escape a few years ago and failed. They deemed her too much of a risk and…'_ **

It didn't need to say anymore. She understood what happened next and felt Nightstalker's sorrow. _ "I understand, and I am sorry. " _

** _'Don't be, it’s a fair exchange. We both understand each others’ pain now.'_ **

Amaranth, feeling overwhelmed, tried to think of another question that didn't dig up painful memories. _ "Um, so what are others of your kind like? Do you guys have a home planet?" _

** _'We are very much like you humans: varied in personality, abilities, and appearance. We do have a homeworld, but i don't know exactly where it is at. I was born in space.'_ **

Amaranth was about to ask another question when she felt pain in her stomach. _ "Time for a midnight snack. What do you think we should eat tonight?" _

** _'Pizza with bacon, chicken, and chocolate.' _ **It said without hesitation.

_“Alright,”_ Amaranth lifted her left arm, and a cheap disposable Chatter appeared from her symbiote skin. To avoid the risk of losing her Chatter, which contained all of her information, she took a cheap disposable one found in gift shops and started bringing it with her on patrols mostly for this type of situation. The claws on her fingers morphed into regular fingers to avoid damaging the touch screen. She dialed the number to her favorite Pizza Joint, Mickey’s Pizza, the best place in Fairfields. She had saved Mickey, the owner, a few times, and as a thank you, she was given free pizza. It didn't take long for Mickey to pick up. 

_ “Mickey’s Pizza.” _said a rough voice coming from the chatter.

**“Hey, Mickey, its Nightstalker.”**

A boisterous laugh came from the chatter. _ “Hey, Stalker, you sound hungry. Oh, who am I kidding, you always sound hungry. What can I get ya?” _ he joked.

**“Yeah, the usual,”** answered Amaranth.

_ “Okay, so a large with extra chicken and chocolate bites with extra chocolate sauce, right?” _he surmised.

**“Yes, please.”**

_ “Pick up or rooftop delivery.” _

Amaranth thought about how the pizza place wasn't too far, and she wanted to do a bit more swinging.** “Pick up, be there in a few.”**

_ “Alright, it should be ready when you get here,” _he said before hanging up.

The chatter went back under her symbiote skin, and her claws returned. She stood and stretched. “Alright, partner, let's go gets some pizza.”

** _‘I can already taste the chocolate.’_ **

Amaranth jumped from the roof and extended a tendril. It latched onto the side of a building, and Amaranth swung, extending another tendril, going from building to building. She somersaulted, then performed a forward flip before extending another tendril. She could hear the few people below shouting, and saw them taking pictures of her. She had to admit that she enjoyed the attention. Amaranth kept swinging until she heard the sound of breaking glass. She stopped swinging and latched herself onto a nearby building. She looked toward the source and heard yelling coming from a convenience store. Amaranth jumped off the building and landed onto the street. She activated her camouflage and walked towards the front of the store, then crouched. There were four people inside: the cashier, a criminal pointing a handgun at said cashier, and Dr. Holly and her assistant with their hands raised.

_ ‘What are they doing here?’ _

“I won’t ask again! Give me the money!” she heard the criminal yell through the glass.

** _‘That can wait. We need to take care of that scum before he hurt somebody.’_ **

Amaranth studied the man. He looked scared and unsure, which meant this was going to be easy. Prey like him usually only required a little scare to be set straight. As Nightstalker taught her, ‘Intimidation can be your greatest asset.’ So, while he was distracted, she just had to enter and take care of him.

** _‘Good, apply the lessons I taught you.’_ **

Amaranth stood at her full height and deactivated her camouflage. She opened the reinforced glass door, ringing its electronic bell in the process. The criminal turned around, pointing his gun at her, and as soon he did, she extended a tendril and latched it to his gun arm. She then twisted his wrist, forcing him to drop his gun and began slowly walking towards him. She added a little extra weight to her steps, emphasizing their size difference. She looked down on him, smiling wider and farther back than usual, exposing more of her black teeth and the criminal was now sweating profusely and breathing hard, his poorly shaven face completely soaked. Good, that meant he was scared, implying no further violence had to be used. Amaranth could smell his fear through her symbiote ‘hair’ tendril. They could smell and sense vibrations in the air allowing her to ‘see’ around her and find any hidden prey. 

Amaranth grabbed his shoulder, her grip tight enough to be uncomfortable, poking his chest hard enough to get her point across. **“You come here again or go anywhere in this city hurting and threatening innocents-” ** Amaranth opened her mouth and let out an elongated tongue, licking around the criminal’s face causing him to whimper. **“I might find your brain mighty tasty and bite your head off. Do you understand,” **she said after retracting her tongue.

The criminal nodded his head comically fast.

**“Good. Now it's clear you didn't want to do this, so I am going to go easy on you and let you go. I highly suggest you rethink your life. " **Amaranth let him go, and he immediately ran out the door.. 

Amaranth let out a sigh, wondering if she went a little overboard. But she hoped he would choose a better way of life because of her actions.

** _‘Either way, he won't be committing any more crimes anytime soon. Let’s check on the hostages.’_ **

Amaranth turned her attention to the cashier. She could see from the girl’s name tag that her name was Arin. She was relatively short, about Amaranth’s height when she had been sick. Arin was staring at her wide-eyed and mouth open, looking at her up and down; she was trembling and hyperventilating. 

Amaranth stepped closer to the counter. **“Are you okay?” **she asked, trying to sound as gentle as possible. 

Arin breathing steadied as she calmed herself down. She nodded her head. “Yeah, I’m alright, I just never thought I would be held at gunpoint or saved by the famous Nightstalker.” she shook her head. “Sorry, I’m a little woozy.”

**“It's alright, I will check on the others. Take a minute to get your bearings.” ** Amaranth then turned her attention towards Dr. Holly and her assistant. She walked towards them, burying her immediate reaction of dislike for the woman. Amaranth noticed as she walked towards them that Dr. Holly was studying her like she was a specimen of a science experiment. It was understandable. The doctor had never seen something like her and was likely coming up with a million hypotheses on how she ticked; but it didn’t make her any less unnerved. **“Are you two okay?**

Dr. Holly nodded. “Yes, thank you, Nightstalker.” She looked at her, examining every part of her body. “Fascinating, your skin seems to be made to be made of some oily substance, and your body is extremely malleable.” she hummed placing a hand under her chin. “If you don’t mind, I would like to ask a couple of questions.”

**“Uh, sorry, I have places to be and a patrol to complete, but maybe later if I run into you.” **Amaranth turned around ready to go and get her pizza, and leave Dr. Holly. That’s when Arin called her.

“Hey, before you go, I got something for you.” Arin bent down behind the counter and, after a few moments, came back up with two boxes labeled ‘Extreme Choco bars: Now with extra coco’ “Take them as thanks. They are extras sent to us by accident. I heard you love chocolate.”

** _‘Take them. We can eat a box on the way and save the rest for later.’ _ **Nightstalker said excitedly.

Amaranth chuckled and walked to the counter and took the boxes of chocolates. **“Thank you, I will enjoy these. I have to go, stay safe,” **she said as she headed out the door. She latched a tendril on the nearest building and swung in the direction towards the Mickey’s Pizza where her dinner for the night awaited. 

**(Back at the store.)**

Catherine stared at the store door deep in thought. As unexpected as tonight's events had been, her encounter with Nightstalker had proved to be very informative. It was almost 7’0 tall and made of some oily substance that was extraordinarily malleable and elastic. It was also quite strong, its body displaying a muscular frame. Her claws and elbow blades seemed quite sharp. It had large inhuman eyes that were devoid of pupils; so it was possible she had some sort of advance eyespot. If so, how good was its eyesight? And what about her other senses? These were questions for later, but three things stood out to Catherine: its apparent fondness for chocolate, threatening to eat someone’s brain, and its voice that despite being distorted and having a reverb sounded familiar.

_ ‘Chocolate. Brains. Just like… No, it couldn’t be, could it? Then there’s the voice…’ _Catherine turned towards her escort who was taking a datapad out of his jacket. While Nightestalker, the cashier, and the thug were distracted, she had signaled Cooner use his datapad camera and mic to record the whole thing putting it away before Nightstalker turned towards them. “Did you record everything?” she asked quietly.

Conner simply nodded. “Yes, Doctor.”

“Good. We need to hurry back to the hotel,” she said before quickly leaving out of the convenience store heading straight for the hotel.

**(Sometime later)**

**Year: 06/4/2525**

**Planet: Sargasso**

**Location: the City of Fairfield, Fairfield Luxury Hotel**

Catherine sat on her bed while her escort slept beside her, working on her laptop and datapad. She went through notes on the clone’s condition, recovery, and her blood results. She also watched the video footage and recording of her encounter with Nightstalker, as well as playing a recording of her voice.

“Play it again,” she commanded a third time.

“Yes, doctor,” answered Jarrod.

**“Are you okay?” **Nightstalker’s voice came from her Laptop’s speakers.

Catherine placed a hand under her chin in thought. “Hmmm, play again, but try to get rid of the reverb and distortion.” 

“That would be difficult ma’am since this isn’t an edited recording, but I will try. One moment please,” he said.

It didn’t take long for the Micro-AI to finish its edits. Once done, it played the recording again but this time it was a lot less distorted, and the reverb was virtually gone. “Are you okay?” said a familiar voice of a certain physically and mentally 14-year old girl.

Catherine's eyes widened as she just stared in shock. “Play it again,” she said.

“Are you okay?” repeated the familiar voice.

“Again,” said Catherine in further disbelief.

“Are you okay?” said the voice of Daisy or, more accurately, her flesh clone.

Catherine just stared at the screen. She couldn’t believe it, but the evidence was there, and it made sense. If the flesh clone was Nightstalker, then it would explain her sudden recovery, her rapid growth, and her appetite. But the question now was: what exactly had happened to the clone and how was it all connected.

“What is happening? I’ll need to keep a close eye on the clone tomorrow.” Halsey whispered, hoping she was wrong. If she was right and reported this to ONI, she knew what they would do. And the Spencer’s would suffer more heartache.

“Is something wrong, Ma’am?” asked Jarrod.

“No, I’m fine. I just need to get some sleep.” 

“Alright, Ma’am, have a good night.” wished Jarrod.

Catherine nodded and closed her laptop before laying back in her bed. But she couldn't go to sleep. Her mind raced, hypothesizing on what was happening to the clone ranging from possible infection from a new disease to some sort of parasite, and the worry of the consequences of what she had learned.

**Year: 06/14/2525**

**Planet: Sargasso**

**Location: Life Foundation Research facility a few miles from Fairfields**

Ronald shook his head at the news brought him. And to think that the night had been going so well too. “Alright, so you’re telling me that ONI is sniffing around the Spencer’s residents, and are interested in the suspected host?” he said, wiping the drops of sweat from his forehead.

_ “Yup, boss, that’s what I hear. So what are you going to do?” _

That was a good question. What was Ronald going to do? There was only one thing he could do. _ “Bootstrap, keep a closer eye on the ONI agents and notify me of any suspicious activity.” _

_ “On it, bootstrap cutting off.” _ said bootstrap before disconnecting.

Ronald narrowed his eyes. He was going to have to send them in. “Sentry, send the order to the retrieval team. Began retrieval tomorrow night around 7:00 pm. Have them do a complete cleanup and make sure it looks like an accident.” 

_ “Orders sent, Director.” _

“Good,” he said as he let out a relaxed sigh. With Juri on the retrieval team, he had nothing to worry about. She always got her target. Ronald leaned back, smiling to himself. “Mr. Drake gets his symbiote back, and I avoid losing my employment or worse. Now, he needed to make preparations to have that area blocked off and have containment and biohazard protocols put in place for their returning guests. Hopefully this time there wouldn’t be any problems.

**Year: 06/14/2525**

**Planet: Sargasso**

**Location: the City of Fairfield, Spencer's Estate**

Amaranth was struggling.

Sweat was pouring down her brow, her face crunched in intense concentration. Her eyes were focused, squinting with intense concentration at the challenge she was facing. This was the last trial, and after this, her torture would be finally over. Amaranth gripped her pencil tighter as she went deeper into thought. She only had less than 30 minutes to complete the challenge. She couldn’t fail; otherwise, her freedom would be in jeopardy. And for some reason, Nightstalker wasn’t helping!

**‘** ** _Amaranth, I am not going to do your math homework for you. You have to do this on your own. I have given you enough hints._ ** **’** chided Nightstalker.

Amaranth let out a mixture of a sigh and sputter, laying back in her chair and looking around the family library/classroom. ‘_ But you know how bad I am at math _,’ she thought, sitting back up and staring down at her last math problem as if the answer was going to appear if she willed it hard enough.

**‘** ** _Which is why you need to do this on your own. You made it to the last question, and the sooner you get it done, the more free time you get later to read your mangas or work on your speech. Plus, Dr. Holly will be here in a few minutes_ ** **.’**

‘I know’ Amaranth let out a sigh, she wasn't looking forward to meeting her again and worse, she was staying for dinner. She still couldn’t figure out why she had such negative feelings towards her. It was so confusing and frustrating! Amaranth tapped her pencil against her desk, when it suddenly hit her. She scribbled down her answer and how she came to said answer. Once done, she slammed her pencil down and stood up in triumph. “I did it!”

**‘** ** _See, I knew you could do it. Now you have the rest of the day free._ ** **’**

Amaranth smiled to herself. ‘_ Yeah, after Dr. Holly’s visit _,’ she thought with some exasperation. She looked down at herself. She still wearing her workout clothes from earlier. She checked the time on her chatter and saw that she had a little over 25 minutes to change and freshen herself up. She quickly exited the library, going through the living room and while passing by the kitchen, could hear the sound of clanging pots and pans. The aromatic scent of seasoning hit Amaranth's nose as she passed. Amaranth headed up the stairs straight to her room. After closing and locking the door behind her, she went straight to her drawer and rummaged through it. She felt Nightstalker’s oily goopy form ooze out of the pores of her back to hover next to her face. 

“What should I wear? This one, or this one?” she asked, pulling a white shirt and a midnight blue shirt that had a black collar and sleeve cuffs.

“You should go with the blue one with a pair of black pants and those new shoes you bought.”

Amaranth smirked knowingly. “So, pretty much dressed like your color scheme.” she chuckled. “Hmmm, it is getting a little chilly, and I really like the design of your jacket form… Yeah, let's go with that.”

Amaranth took out her outfit and put it on. She was now wearing a midnight blue shirt with black pants and black shoes with midnight blue soles. “Now for the finishing touch.” She felt Nightstalker coat itself on the top half of her body, shapeshifting into a midnight blue and black zip-up hood. Amaranth looked at herself in the mirror then nodded in approval. She then brushed her hair, with Nightstalker helping with the hard tangled areas.

When she was done, she opened the drawer containing her candy stash. She pulled out one of the new Choco bars and headed out the door.As she walked downstairs, she heard the doorbell ring. “The doctor is here, great,” she muttered.

Once she made it down the stairs, she saw that Jon and Amy were talking to Dr. Holly and her assistant. Amaranth took a deep breath and walked towards them while munching on her chocolate bar. Amy noticed her enter the room and greeted her, “Ah, Daisy, we were about to call you. Dr. Holly was just about to tell us what she had planned for the interview.” 

Dr. Holly nodded towards Amaranth with a smile. There was something different about her. She seemed to be looking at her with a more focused eye. “Hello, Daisy, I hope you’re doing well.” Her eyebrows knitted at the sight of Amaranth’s chocolate bar. “Excuse me- if you don’t mind me asking- what are you are eating and what brand?"

"Um, Choco brand chocolate. Why?" she answered, not liking the frown that creased the doctor’s face. But it disappeared just as it came. “I see.” she said before clearing her throat before turning back to Jon and Amy. “Anyway, I was thinking of having you do some more of your exercises. Specifically, some more weightlifting and running. Then we can test your reflexes. Nothing too extreme, just a simple game of catch. Also, I would like to ask some more questions.” She looked over at Amaranth. “But, I see your daughter isn’t wearing her workout clothes, so I believe it would be best to start with the questions. Also, that is an interesting choice of colors.”

Amaranth smiled. “Thank you, I just bought this outfit the other day.”

“Hmmm, I see. The color scheme and pattern remind me of your local vigilante. Nightstalker, I believe her name was.” 

Amy sighed. “Ever since she appeared, Daisy has become an instant fan. She never misses a news report about her.” she chuckled. “She, as you can see, bought an outfit based on her color scheme.”

“I see, well I believe we should go get comfortable. I have a small list of questions to ask.”

Like the day previously, the group went into the living and sat down across from each other. After getting comfortable, Dr. Holly took her datapad out of her purse while her assistant just sat quietly. She tapped on it a few times then adjusted the camera on the pad. 

“Alright, now the first question is for Daisy and it is quite… personal,” Dr. Holly’s let out a sigh; it was strange that her eyes seemed so full of guilt. “How did it feel when you started to walk after eight years? What did you feel when you miraculously recovered?”

Amaranth was quiet, her fists clenched as she tried not only to formulate the best way to explain her feelings. Why was she so angry at the woman for a question she was able to answer with no problem before? “It was the greatest thing I ever felt. Eight years. Eight years of unending pain. Eight years of feeling my body slowly shutting down. Eight years of a growing list of needles and pills. Eight years of my parents watching me silently suffer as they watch me waste away. Eight years of ever-increasing helplessness. And I am free from all of that!” she choked.

“Daisy,” said Amy placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

** _‘Amaranth.’ _ **comforted Nightstalker.

Amaranth kept talking. “I’m sorry for my outburst, but you have no idea what it was like to be in that state. Growing weaker by the day, knowing I was going to die very soon.”

Dr. Holly looked down and looked guilty? "I am sorry…. I should have known my question would bring strong emotions out of you. Would you like to take a minute before moving on?"

"No, I am alright now. Go on."

For over thirty minutes, Dr. Holly kept asking questions. Some were minor, like inquiring about Amaranth's interest, but some were more personal, like how was everyone was doing and if there were any problems. It was strange. It was like she cared on a deeper level than expected for a stranger. A loud ringing sound was heard from the kitchen. 

Amy got up from the sofa. “Oh, the roast is ready. Excuse me, but I have to set up dinner. Can we stop for a minute?” she asked.

“No problem. In fact, this would be an excellent time to take a break. I admit I was getting hungry,” said Dr. Holly.

“Glad to hear it. I’ll get the food out. Daisy, can you come to help me set up the table?” asked Amy.

“Yes, Mom,” Amaranth said quickly.

Amaranth got up and followed Amy into the kitchen, the smell of roast hitting her nose. While Amy finished up the main dish and prepared the sides, Amaranth was setting up the table. Throughout the entire thing, she couldn’t help but think about the questions that Dr. Holly asked.

** _‘What’s wrong, Amaranth? I can feel that you’re disturbed by something. It’s Dr. Holly again, isn’t it?’_ **

** ** Amaranth placed a plate on the table. _ ‘Yeah, I feel like she’s lying about something, and she seems a little too interested in my personal life. I don’t know, maybe I’m just being paranoid, but something feels off.’ _ Amaranth placed the last plate on the table.

** _‘Don’t doubt your instincts. If you feel that something is ‘off’ about her, then keep a close eye on her.’_ **

_ ‘Yeah, I guess that’s all I can do for now.’ _thought Amaranth as she finished setting the table.

**(Meanwhile…)**

Three large black vans were crossing the bridge in the middle of the starry night, speeding towards the Spencers estate with the full moon high in the black sky. In the back of the lead van were two figures. One was a young woman of Korean descent with purple eyes, and hair dyed a crimson red. She wore a black and crimson collared catsuit with a black widow pattern on the back, a black high-neck sleeveless top underneath, and black fingerless gloves with crimson designs. This was Juri Han, codenamed Widow. She had been ‘hired’ by the Life Foundation to be used as one of their first guinea pigs, and later their personal agent for matters that required a person of a specific nature. The second person was a muscular behemoth of a man standing a little over 7’0 tall. He had tanned skin, brown eyes, and short curly hair. He had a blank expression on his face and wore a black shirt with a pair of slightly worn brown cargo pants and work boots. This was Hugo Armstrong, codenamed Bludgeon. He had been the simple muscle for hire on Imber before being hired by the Life Foundation.

Juri looked at her nails before a black and crimson oily mass secreted from her skin and covered her hand glove, replacing her nails with crimson claws. She flexed her claws, a predatory grin spreading across her face. This was the first time that she was sent to retrieve a symbiote with a host. She and her symbiote, Widow, were looking forward to seeing it and its host struggle to avoid capture. And she was going to have so much fun with the witnesses.

** _‘Can I eat them?’ _ **asked a distorted feminine voice.

_ ‘No, we need to leave something behind for the police to avoid raising eyebrows,’ _ Juri felt Widow’s disappointment. _ ‘But I am pretty sure one body won’t hurt.’ _

Widow was elated at that news. ** _‘And we get to play with them before killing, right?’_ **

Juri let out a cruel chuckle. _ ‘Of course,’ _she answered. 

“Remember, Juri. We are here to retrieve the symbiote and possibly the host, so don’t waste too much time.”

She looked at her muscle bound partner. The new guy Hugo, despite his appearance and demeanor, was far from a simple-minded brute. He was just straight to the point. Do the job and don’t waste time; no more, no less. In short, he was no fun, and to him, this was a job. His partner was the same.

To Juri, it was playtime, a chance to let her crueler side out and revel in the agony she and Widow were about to inflict. “I know,” she sneered and crossed her arms. “You know you should have that stick removed from your ass. It can’t be comfortable.” Widow took a blood stained knife out of her catsuit twirling it fondly thinking of all the people she killed with it. Some innocent. Some guilty. But in the end it didn’t matter. Being able to kill is all that mattered to her.

Hugo let out a ‘humph.’ “I treat it like a job, not a field trip. I suggest you do the same.”

** _‘Killjoy.’ _ **remarked Widow.

Before she could give a smartass remark, the driver spoke to them through the intercom system.

_ “We are almost to target’s destination. ETA:5-10 minutes. Prepare to disembark.” _

Juri let out a dark chuckle. “And the fun is about to begin.

Hugo narrowed his eyes. “Remember, get the girl, clean up, and get out. No playing around.”

Juri rolled her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. “Alright, whatever you say, _ dad _.” she mocked.

Hugo merely let out a gruff confirmation, and the two spent the rest of the trip in silence.

**Year: 06/14/2525**

**Planet: Sargasso**

**Location: the City of Fairfield, Spencer's Estate**

Amaranth took a few bites out of her pot roast before moving on to the mashed potatoes. Dinner had been more or less pleasant. Amy and Jon asked Dr. Holly and her assistant, Jacob- at least she thought that was his name- questions about their lives, schooling, hobbies, etc.While Jacob gave short, simple answers, Dr. Holly's were more detailed, rehearsed almost. But for every answer she gave, in the back of Amaranth's mind, a voice screamed 'Lies! Lies! Lies!'. She didn't know why, but Amaranth knew that the doctor was lying. It took Amaranth a bit of will power to keep herself from calling out the women every time she answered. 

"Is something wrong, my little flower? You’re picking at your food,” asked Jon breaking Amaranth out of her thoughts.

Amaranth looked up from her plate at Daisy’s father. “Oh, it nothing, just thinking… hmm... about the new manga volume of Mobile Space Knight ShadowKaiser. I heard the next volume is going to be a real plot twist, and they’re going to introduce ShadowKaiser’s power-up form: Black sword saint Shadow DaiKaiser. Since I’m better, maybe I’ll be able to cosplay as the main lead in the upcoming convention.” she said, partially lying. 

Amy nearly choked on her food at the remark. “I never understood the interest in dressing up as fictional characters,” she said.

** _‘I believe the phrase ‘Hello, pot, I’m kettle.’ would be appropriate.’ _ **commented Nightstalker.

Amaranth couldn’t agree more. She understood, after learning about what Amy considered her embarrassing younger years, why she wasn’t too keen on her interests in anime. It was, ironically, funny. Amaranth and Jon gave each other a smile and knowing looks when Amy wasn’t paying attention.

Dr. Holly took a bite of mash potatoes before wiping her mouth. “That’s interesting, mind telling me what the story is about, Daisy?”

“Well, it’s about an amnesiac girl who is trying to find out who she is with the help of an AI-equipped, advanced, super robot named Shadowkaiser. Throughout the story, they fight this monster in human skin who kidnapped people and changed them into mindless soldiers to use in his army and fight the rebellion. And as of recent volumes, there are hints and build-up to a big reveal. I heard it will be a real plot twist. I can’t wait for the coming volume set to release in a couple of months.” she said excitedly, forgetting who she was talking to.

Dr. Holly looked down at her plate of food, an unreadable emotion in her eyes. “I see, that’s… An interesting story,” she said after a few moments. 

Jon placed a hand under his chin. “You know, one of my clients is a professional costume designer, and he owes me a favor. I will give him a call tomorrow and see if he can recreate that costume.” 

Before Amaranth could respond, the doorbell rang. Jon placed his utensils down and wiped his mouth. “I wonder who comes out here this time of night. I’ll get it,” he said as he got up and walked out of the kitchen.

**(a few moments later)**

Jon walked down the hall towards the front door. Whoever was at the door was still ringing the doorbell, irritating Jon a little. Who would come at this time of the night? “Hold on, I’m coming,” he said.

He made it to the front door and twisted the knob. He opened it up to be met with a surprising sight. A Korean woman with purple hair and wearing a black and red catsuit was at his front door, with a disturbing smile on her face. Behind her were three large vans with fifteen heavily armed and armored men coming out of them, with the biggest man he had ever seen leading them.

Jon stood still, his military training kicking in as he studied the situation. The armored men were wearing a variant of ODST armor and were armed with M7S silenced SMGs. In short, he needed to be careful and avoid giving them a reason to shoot. “What’s the meaning of this?! Who are you?!” he asked.

The women let out an exaggerated gasp. “Oh my, you’re right, how rude of us. My name is Juri. My associates and I are here to retrieve stolen property that we believe your daughter has.” A blood-curdling smile spread across her face. “Now, would you kindly take me to her.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about. My daughter doesn’t have anything that belongs to whoever you work for, so please leave.” Jon said defiantly.

Juri let out a mocking chuckle that put Jon on edge. "Oh, come on now. Your daughter was weeks from being on death's door and then the next day lifting weights and exercising like she hadn’t been sick for years. You can’t tell me you weren’t a little suspicious. Or are you that dense? Or maybe just in denial. Now, either take me to her, or I will have a little fun with you and your family.”

Jon immediately tried to slam the door in her face only to be wrapped in a black and crimson slime coming out of her arm. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you that it is rude to slam the door in a person’s face.” she mocked as she lifted him a few inches from the ground. “Now, take me to your daughter.”

“Jon!” screamed a voice. 

“Dad!” Screamed another.

Jon turned his head and saw his wife and daughter with Dr. Holly and her assistant, who took out a pistol from his jacket and pointed it at the woman holding him hostage.

Amaranth froze, a massive pit in her stomach formed when she saw Jon being held by black and crimson symbiote goop coming out of the intruding woman’s arm. _ ‘They found us. It’s my fault. If I had just stayed in my wheelchair-’ _

** _‘Amaranth, you need to focus. We need to get your Dad out of her grip and find a way out of this situation.’_ **

_ ‘Right,’ _she said, focusing. Nightstalker was right. She needed to focus on finding a way out of this situation. Everything else could wait.

Nightstalker then started softly, almost hesitantly. ‘** _Amaranth, listen to me. This is life or death, and-’ _ ** Nightstalker hesitated. ** _‘You might have to kill-’_ **

_ ‘What?! No! I can’t-” _

** _‘I know you don’t want to, but she isn’t just your average thug. She has a corrupted symbiote inside, and she is a killer that won’t hesitate to murder you and everyone else here. I hoped you wouldn’t have to face this type of situation anytime soon; but this is life or death, and right now, it is either you and everyone here, or that woman and her allies.’._ **

Amaranth clenched her fist. Logically she knew she would one day have to kill in self-defense. Still, she couldn’t even think about it now, despite the people in question clearly being vile- especially the one holding Jon hostage. She just couldn’t do it! 

Jon struggled to free himself from his restraints. “Get out of here!” he shouted, breaking Amaranth out of her thoughts. “They are after Dai-” symbiote goop covered Jon’s mouth, gagging him.

“Yap, Yap, Yap. Just keep your mouth shut.” said the woman, making a talking motion with her free hand. She turned her attention back to them. “I would put that down if I were you. You might hit poor Jon-” she said, mockingly shaking him a little. “And besides,” more of the symbiote flowed out of her skin and clothes, covering her. In moments the woman was replaced by a black and crimson spider monster. She was shaped similarly to Amaranth when she was in her Nightstalker mode, except this symbiote seemed to also assimilated her suit. She had a different pattern, with the majority of her body being black with crimson lines, and a black widow symbol on her chest. She had thick Gorgon-like short hair, and her mouth had four mandibles- two on each side- complemented by rows of razor-sharp crimson teeth. Her free hand had crimson claws, and four black spider legs sprouted from her back, each tipped with a crimson talon. **“Your little peashooter won’t work on us,” ** she said to everyones’ shocked faces. “ **Now, Daisy, come over here. We don’t want your father to get hurt.” ** Her tendrils tightened around Jon, causing him to groan. **“Do we,” **she said, her permanent smile somehow becoming wider.

“DAD!” Amaranth went forward.

Amy grabbed Amaranth’s shoulder and pulled her back away from the monster in front of them. “Who are you!? What... do you want with my daughter!?” asked a trembling Amy, keeping Amaranth behind her.

**“You can call us Widow. We just want her to give back my boss’s property. Give her to us or else.” **she let out a dark, demonic chuckle. 

“And if we refuse.” Dr. Holly asked with unusual calm.

**“Everyone dies starting with him,” ** she said, pointing her head towards Jon and squeezing him slightly. **“But if your daughter comes quietly we will leave you all alone,” **

“No!” Amy cried.

Amaranth heard Nightstalker growl.** _ ‘She is lying! As soon as you give yourself up, she and her allies will kill everyone anyway. Disgusting!’_ **

Amaranth knew Nightstalker was right, and knew what she had to do. It was time, she was going to reveal her secret. The closest thing she had to a family had already suffered enough, and she was going to fight with every fiber of her being to protect them. She was going to fight even if it meant sacrificing her life.

** _‘Amaranth, I am with you until the end. I will keep the promise I made to you. This is the moment that everything I taught you will be put to the test.'_ **

_ ‘Thank you, Nightstalker; now let us show them why we are the emissaries from hell.' _

“STOP!” screamed Amaranth. She stepped forward, ignoring Amy’s attempts at stopping her. “Put him down and leave them out of this! It’s us you want.”

Widow chuckled. **“So, you finally decided to make the smart choice, eh? Alright, here you go,” **she said as she unceremoniously flung Jon towards the group. He slid a little across the floor. Dr. Holly’s assistant quickly ran to his side and helped him up, allowing Jon to catch his breath.

Amaranth stepped closer towards Widow.

“Daisy, don’t!” Jon choked out.

Amaranth clenched her fist, holding back her tears. “I’m sorry, Mom, Dad, I have been keeping a couple of secrets from you two.” Amaranth wiped away her tears, and her eyes hardened. 

“Daisy, what are you talking about” Amy was about to step forward towards Amaranth but was stopped by Dr. Holly shaking her head.

**“Be a good girl and come with me if you want them to live,” **she said.

Amaranth smirked. “I don’t think so. I’m not stupid. You were going to kill them anyway, even if I surrendered, and I won’t let that happen. If you think you’re going to capture Nightstalker and me or hurt them, then you have another thing coming. Prepare to face the protector of the night! The emissaries of hell!” suddenly, Amaranth’s ‘jacket’ lost its shape. turning into an ever-spreading slime that quickly covered her entire being and replacing the physically 14-year-old girl with the 7-foot tall monstrous protector of the night. ** _“NIGHTSTALKER!” _ ** Amaranth jumped forward and rammed into Widow, sending both of them out the door and onto the pavement rolling over a few times as they wrestled with each other. 

Widow was able to block the attack with her spider legs and reduce most of the damage. She then used those same legs to throw Amaranth off her. Amaranth was tossed into the air and landed back onto her feet. She suddenly felt movement behind her and dodged right, narrowly avoiding a punch from a fist the size of her torso. She landed on her feet, away from the newcomer and studied him. The newcomer was another host like her and Widow, except for it was obviously a man- an 8-foot hulk of a man. The symbiote covering him was solid blackish green, his arms and knuckles were covered with white bony armor growths, and he had razor-sharp white teeth, and serrated diamond-shaped eyes. 

** _‘Careful, Amaranth, this one is a lot stronger than you, and likely more experienced like his partner.’_ **

_ ‘Right, avoid his punches. Easy enough, he looks slower than us.’ _

**“Damn it, Widow! I told you no playing around, quick and simple!” **shouted the green giant.

Widow got up from the ground, no worse for wear. **“I did, Bludgeon. The girl pretended to surrender and caught me off guard,” **she said in a mocking innocent tone.

**“Bullshit, you allowed this to happen. We will talk about this later.” ** Bludgeon then pointed at Amaranth. **“Everybody open fire.” **

Amaranth felt multiple presences beside her and heard multiple ‘clicks.’ She looked to her side and saw armored men wearing ODST armor standing in front of their bulletproof vans, aiming their guns at her. Popping sounds filled the air and Amaranth was suddenly bombarded by a storm of bullets. Usually bullets would be nothing but a nuisance to her and Nightstalker, but this time it was different. Pain erupted from every bullet as they pierced her symbiote skin and exploded into miniature flames. They were using some sort of incendiary rounds. Amaranth lifted her arms to shield herself. Her forearms thickened and widened, forming small shields to provide a little relief.

** _“Quickly subdue her while she is distracted!” _ **yelled the one named Bludgeon.

Amaranth looked through the gap between her arms and saw three of the armored men each carrying a gun by the hip. Each weapon had a dish at the end of their long barrels and was connected to some backpack by a thick cable. Amaranth was hit by a high pitch sound and, letting out a distorted roar, was forced to her knees, covering her head in agonizing torment. The pain was worse than that time she and Nightstalker had been in the MRI machine. Her symbiote skin form rippled and convulsed, but fortunately, Nightstalker was able to maintain shape. The group slowly moved towards her, moving in front of their bosses.

** _‘We... have... to... take… out... the… source… of… that… noise.’ _ **Nightstalker grunted out.

_ ‘I...know…’ _Amaranth tried to focus through the pain and lifted an arm from her head. If she could just form a tendril, she could knock them off their feet and-

**‘BANG!’**

**‘BANG!’**

**‘BANG!**

Two bodies fell to the ground, with one of them being one of the hired guns carrying the sound weapon. The others were distracted, focusing on the source of the gunfire and firing back, giving Amaranth just enough wiggle room to move. She formed a tendril and with a mighty swing, knocked the last of the sound weapon carrying thugs off their feet and into the side of a nearby van, knocking them out. Amaranth instantly got back onto her feet, ignoring the pulsing pain in her head.

**“Damn it, Widow, see why I told not to play around! All teams, take care of them!” ** he gestured to Daisy’s parents, Dr. Holly, and her assistant. ** “Widow and I will deal with the target.” **ordered Bludgeon.

**“NO!” **By instinct, Amaranth ran towards the nearest thug, unsheathing her stingers. She stabbed the thug, piercing through his chest armor like a needle through a cloth, and lifted him up from the ground. The hired gun croaked before going limp. Amaranth gasped, stepping back. She removed her blood-soaked stingers from the freshly made corpse and it to fall to the ground. Her hands shook as she stared at the body. “What… What have I done…” Amaranth didn’t get a chance to further contemplate her actions when Nightstalker yelled.

** _‘Watch out!’_ **

Amaranth suddenly felt her body move on its own, dodging Bludgeon’s armored fist. 

** _‘Amaranth, keep focus!’_ **

_ ‘I… I killed him.’ _

** _‘Amaranth,’ _ **Nightstalker moved Amaranth’s body, jumping back and narrowly dodging Widow’s claw-tipped spider legs.

**“What’s wrong? Was that your first kill? Don’t worry, it gets easier after the first time. But unfortunately, you won’t get another chance.” **taunted Widow.

_ ‘I… I didn’t mean to.’ _

** _‘Amaranth!’ _ ** yelled Nightstalker, breaking Amaranth out of her daze. ** _‘You need to focus on the matter at hand, or we will die. You will die! Your family will die!’ _ **

Nightstalker was right. She needed to focus. Her family was in danger because of her, and she’d be damned if she let anything happened to them. Amaranth took back control of her body and unsheathed her stingers going into a fighting stance. She didn’t want to kill again, but she would if she had to. She would bear that burden if it meant protecting the closest thing she had to a family! Amaranth charged at Widow, stingers ready. She swiped her right then left, repeating the process with an intense fury and determination she never had before. 

Widow cackled, dodging and blocking every swipe with practiced grace. **“What’s this? Finally got your shit together? Good, it’s more fun when my victims struggle in false hope. And when we incapacitate you,” ** she chuckled. **“I think I will have a little fun with your family. Their screams will-”**

**“Shut up!” **she screamed, landing an angry swipe followed by a high kick in Widow’s face, sending her flying back into a van and creating a large hole. Amaranth chuckled a little, enjoying shutting the psychopath up. She saw as Bludgeon ran to his partner and pulled her out of the truck. While they were busy Amaranth looked towards the hired guns firing at her family. Jon and Jacob were firing back from the front door but they needed help. 

** _‘Amaranth, the bodies, grab their weapons and use those against them!’ _ **

Amaranth, ignoring the pit forming in her stomach, used her tendrils to grab the guns and their owners freshly made corpses. **“DAD, here and take cover!” **she screamed tossing the bodies and weapons, aiming for the front door. She then ran towards the group of hired guns, extending an extra-long tendril and performing a broad sweep. She knocked the group down onto the ground, ignoring the pain from the incoming bullets. The corpses landed on the front porch. Jacob and Jon quickly grabbed the guns and dragged the bodies inside while their attackers were preoccupied. Good, the extra firepower would help them. 

** _‘That should even the odds for them,’ _ **commented Nightstalker.

Amaranth suddenly felt vibrations in the air behind her. She turned around to be met by a furious Widow trying to claw at her. She narrowly dodged the first attack and barely blocked the second with her stingers. 

**“I am going to rip you apart for that, you brat,” **screamed Widow. She then brought two of her razor-sharp spider legs onto Amaranth.

Amaranth parried one of the legs away and was stabbed in the shoulder by the other, letting out a painful roar. Widow to expanded her mandibles, shooting out a gooey liquid that covered Amaranth’s face and her upper torso blinding her. She let out a deafening roar as it sizzled and burned against her symbiote’s skin. It was some sort of acid, and her pain was soon compounded by something slamming her into the ground with the force of a truck. The pain was almost unbearable as she was hit repeatedly until it just suddenly stopped, and she felt a grip tighten around her. Her insides felt like hell and she could feel what she assumed were fractured bones poking her insides while Nightstlaker rapidly knitted them back together, numbing the pain. The acid weakened then lost its potency, allowing Nightstalker to heal itself and her at a faster rate. Amaranth let out a painful groan.

** _‘I’m healing you, just hold on. We will get out of this.’_ **

Her sight returned, and she saw she was pinned to the ground by the muscle-bound brute bludgeon. **“No-” **Amaranth struggled to get free, putting all of her strength into it. She growled and roared like an animal, even resorting to biting, but to no avail. Amaranth couldn’t give up. She would not give up! She got her family and the others into this mess! This was her fault and her responsibility. If she didn’t get out, her family would die because of her. 

** _‘Amaranth, stop struggling. I… I have an idea. It's… risky, but it is our only chance….’ _ **

Amaranth stopped struggling. _ ‘You sound hesitant. What is it?’ _

** _‘I was waiting until your body was stronger and further along the healing process, but this situation… Listen, I can induce a fight or flight response in your body and trick your body into using 100% of its strength. That combined with flooding your system with adrenaline and noradrenaline will provide more than enough strength to dispose of these attackers.’_ **

_ ‘So it’s like a limiter release or overdrive. What’s the catch?’ _

** _‘Your body will be pushed to the very limit. It will be tearing itself apart with every movement, and your mind will be in an extreme state of fight or flight. Your mind will only be clear enough to differentiate between friend and foe.’ _ ** Amaranth felt Nightstalker’s concern. ** _ ‘Amaranth, I will do everything I can to minimize the damage, but I don't know how long your body in its current state can handle the stress. I can only guess, but I believe that you will only be able to stay in this state for 3-5 minutes at best. You will be in excruciating pain and could die from this. I will be burning through hormones like crazy, so in this state you are going to have to eat a few human brains to keep my strength up. Do yo-’_ **

Amaranth turned her head and saw Jon and Holly's assistant firing their newly acquired submachine guns at the mercenaries. She knew what needed to be done. _ ‘Do it.’ _Amaranth said simply. 

Nightstalker was silent for a moment. _ 'Alright, it will take a few moments. Prepare yourself.’ _

Amaranth stopped struggling and took a deep breath preparing herself. If she was going to die, she would do it while protecting Daisy’s parents. She owed them at least that much for stealing Daisy’s life. No, she wasn’t going to die. She was going to protect her family and save Daisy. She was going to make sure Jon and Amy got their daughter back! 

Bludgeon turned his head towards Widow, who was standing over Amaranth, ready to inflict much pain on her. **“Go help the rest of the team clean up. No more playing around, understand?”**

Widow let out a dark chuckle. **“Alright,” ** she then bent down and whispered to Amaranth. **“Give up? Good, I am going to enjoy making sure your family die a quick and agonizing death so I can drag their lifeless bodies out here for you to see or rather what’s left of them.” **she then got up and walked away towards Amaranth’s home.

**“No, I won’t let you,” **Amaranth said quietly as she felt her strength slowly returning. 

Widow stopped and looked at Amaranth.** “Oh, what was that? I can’t hear you. Begging for your parents’ life?”**

**BGM: ** [ **https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbXVcu-Jgq** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbXVcu-Jgqw)

**“I said-”** With a sudden surge of energy and ease, Amaranth lifted Bludgeon off of her, sending him back into a nearby wooded area. Amaranth wobbly got up onto her feet. **“I WON’T LET YOU BASTARDS KILL THEM!! LIMITOR OVERDRIVE!” **she roared with an immense fury and anger as her muscles and veins bulge and her hair suddenly waved wildly like an angry flame.

Widow stepped back. **“What the-” **Widow couldn’t finish her sentence as she was suddenly punched with a speed and force unseen from Amaranth before. Widow was knocked backed before landing and skidding on the ground halfway towards the house. Still, it wasn’t over. Before she could gather her bearings, Amaranth jumped high into the air and landed onto her, knocking the breath out of her.

**“DIE!” **Amaranth roared as she began stabbing and clawing furiously like a demon straight out of hell. She tore pieces of Widow’s symbiote off of her, trying to get the monster underneath, ready to claw out her insides. Tears ran down her face as she was in intense agony: her bones, tendons, muscle fiber, and other parts of her body were in a constant cycle of repair and disrepair as Nightstalker did everything it could to keep her body going as it tore itself apart. Her heart and lungs felt like they were going to explode as they worked overtime to provide the necessary amount of blood and oxygen to her unencumbered body. Amaranth suddenly felt multiple objects pelting against her skin, interrupting her savage display. She turned around and saw the remaining mercenaries firing on her. She let out a roar and charged at her new targets, her claws digging into the ground, giving her more traction. They fired at her, their incendiary bullets doing nothing to stop her as at this point, any pain she felt was fuel for her rampage. She cut one of the mercenary’s heads off and grabbed the severed head. She hungrily ate it whole before spitting the helmet back out. Nightstalker was hungry. It needed more brains to keep going. The rest didn’t last long, like a whirlwind of death and fury tearing through them with ease. Her mind giving way to almost primal instinct was focused only on one thing: destroying any threat to her family. It was like she was half asleep, her mind not fully aware of what it was doing. In less than a minute, none of the mercenaries remained standing or in one piece, all falling like grass to a blade. Blood and guts were everywhere and covered the frenzied Amaranth. Some of the mercenaries’ heads were missing, as well. 

Feeling a presence coming from behind, Amaranth turned around and jumped, dodging an incoming swing by Bludgeon. Bludgeon then grabbed one of her legs with his free hand and slammed her back onto the ground forming a small crater. He pulled back both his fists for a finishing blow. **“I’m ending this.” **he said sending both fists upon Amaranth. Amaranth was able to move to the side, barely avoiding his fists. She then jumped and looped around his neck and onto his back, stabbing and clawing everywhere like a wild animal, ripping and tearing pieces of his symbiote off. Bludgeon roared in pain, moving about and trying to grab the berserker off his back. He finally reached her and threw her away from him. Amaranth was able to land on her feet after a few rolls.

At that moment she attached multiple tendrils to Bludgeon while he was nursing his wounds binding him completely. She secured her footing and pulled. Her muscles tighten as Bludgeon resisted her. It was like a demented game of tug-o-war between monsters and every moment she becomes weaker while her oppenant becomes stronger. Bludgeon was able to free one his arms grabbing Amaranth tendrils and pulled. Amaranth feet dragged across the ground as she was pulled in closer. She needed to end this, now! Amaranth secured her footing even further by attaching multiple mini tendrils from her lower legs to ground. Her muscles bulged further as she with a powerful roar swung Bludgeon launching him in the air out into the distance, likely landing him into the ocean. She was then slammed onto the ground by a recovered Widow. **“I am going to rip the symbiote off of you then-” **she didn’t finish as at that moment, Amaranth grabbed her lower jaw and ripped it off with a primal roar. Widow stepped back, covering her face and letting out an angry and painful roar. Taking this chance, Amaranth tackled her into the ground and began using her claws and stingers to rip Widow apart with the intent to kill her. Widow was going to torture and kill her family. She wouldn’t let her. She kept clawing until she removed enough of Widow’s symbiote to expose her real skin then proceeded to stab Widow through the chest. And with a quick swipe, she destroyed her rib cage and in turn, her heart, covering Amaranth in more blood. Widow went limp with only her symbiote twitching in pain.

Amaranth stood up and looked around, checking if there were others to be found. After letting a primal blood-curdling roar she suddenly couldn’t stand anymore and her body was hit with even more intense pain and soreness. At that moment, everything went black.


End file.
